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HISTORY

NORTH CAROLINA

SAMUEL A’COURT ASHE, LL.D.

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOLUME II

FROM 1783 TO 1925

The necessitie of a Historie is, as of a Sworne Witness,
to say the truth (in just discretion) and nothing but
the truth! — Samuel Purchas, in “ Purchas His
Pilgrimes,’ ’ 1625.

Presses of

Edwards & Broughton Printing Company
RALEIGH
1925

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17 5. G

CLjQl 5S

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this volume to the memory of my departed friends,
Henry Groves Connor and James Sprunt, both deservedly esteemed
as being preeminent among the first citizens of the State, and both,
besides their remarkable success in their chosen life work, also dis¬
tinguished as authors. To them, in one way or another, the possi¬
bility of the preparation of this volume is due, and if the work shall
be deemed of value to the State, to them thanks should be given.

I inscribe their names here in grateful remembrance of their un¬
failing friendship and constant interest in the accomplishment of my
undertaking.

S. A. Ashe.

» • ' ::r; s

PROGRESS OF EVENTS

VOLUME I

FIRST EPOCH
Explorations and Colonies
A.D. 1584 — 1591. Pages 1 — 49

SECOND EPOCH
Permanent Settlement
A.D. 1629 — 1663. Pages 50 — 87

THIRD EPOCH

Proprietary Government
A.D. 1663 — 1729. Pages 88 — 223

FOURTH EPOCH

North Carolina as a Royal Province
A.D. 1729 — 1765. Pages 224 — 309

FIFTH EPOCH

Controversies With the Mother Country
A.D. 1765 — 1775. Pages 310 — 512

SIXTH EPOCH

The War for Independence and the Treaty of Peace
A.D. 1775— 1783. Pages 513—724

Vlll

PROGRESS OF EVENTS

VOLUME II

SEVENTH EPOCH

The Developed State

Social conditions in 1783. — Importation of slaves taxed and in some
cases forbidden. — The State of Franklin. — The proposed union of states. —
The separate state.

A.D. 1783 — 1789. Chapters 1 — 7. Pages 1 — 118

EIGHTH EPOCH

In the Union

North Carolina joins the Union. — Conveys Tennessee to the Union. — The
university chartered. — Permanent capital established. — Friction with France.
— Great land frauds. — The Court of Conference. — The new century. — Re¬
ligious excitement. — Emigration. — The cotton gin.

A.D. 1789 — 1812. Chapters 8 — 14. Pages 119 — 223

NINTH EPOCH

Efforts for Improvement

War with Great Britain. — The first cotton mill. — Operations at sea. — Peace.
— Transportation drawbacks. — Steamboats. — Efforts to improve navigation.
— Colonization societies. — Supreme Court. — The statue of Washington. —
Fulton’s work. — The Western Convention. — Sunday schools. — Geological
Survey.

A.D. 1813 — 1824. Chapters 15 — 18. Pages 222 — 292

TENTH EPOCH

Introduction of Railroads — Constitutional Changes

The Carlton Letters for schools and railroads. — Internal Improvement
Convention. — Capitol burned. — Conflicting interests. — Negro insurrection.
— Railroads introduced. — Agitation by the West for constitutional reform.
— The State Convention. — The West successful and gains power. — The Gov¬
ernor elected by the people. — Biennial sessions. — Negro suffrage abolished.

A.D. 1825 — 1836. Chapters 19 — 23. Pages 293 — 378

PROGRESS OF EVENTS

ELEVENTH EPOCH

Improved Conditions

The public land fund distributed. — Public schools established. — Manufac¬
turing begins. — Colleges chartered — Railroads begin. — The Indians removed.
— The great campaign. — Internal improvements. — Public schools. — War with
Mexico. — The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad bought by the State.

A.D. 1836 — 1848. Chapters 24 — 28. Pages 379 — 461

TWELFTH EPOCH

General Development

A turning point. — The North Carolina Railroad chartered. — The C,on-
servative Democracy weakens. — State aid policy. — Plank roads. — The
Western North Carolina Railroad and the Atlantic and North Carolina Rail¬
road chartered. — Free suffrage. — Slavery question acute. — “Bleeding Kansas.”
— State development. — Railroad construction.

A.D. 1848 — 1858. Chapters 29 — 32. Pages 462 — 519

THIRTEENTH EPOCH

Agitation Against Slavery

John Brown’s raid. — The State disturbed. — Industrial and educational
progress. — The Golden Era. — Northern Democrats and Southern Democrats
split. — The Republicans elect the President. — The cotton states secede. —
North Carolina and the border states adhere to the Union.

A.D. 1858 — 1860. Chapters 33 — 34. Pages 318 — 546

FOURTEENTH EPOCH

The Southern Confederacy

The Peace Conference. — Congress proposes a constitutional amendment.
— President Lincoln inaugurated. — Inaugurates war. — North Carolina sides
with the South. — The great and prolonged contest. — The North victorious.

A.D. i860 — 1865. Chapters 35 — 59. Pages 547 — 1012

PROGRESS OF EVENTS

FIFTEENTH EPOCH
Reconstruction

The President’s plan. — Holden Provisional Governor.— Convention meets.
— The State returns to the Union. — Worth Governor. — Congress dissents:
declares the Southern States conquered; that statehood did not exist; the
territory part of a military district. — Under military government. — Negro
suffrage imposed. — A convention called. — New constitution adopted. — Holden
Governor. — The State admitted to the Union.

A.D. 1865 — 1868. Chapters 60 — 63. Pages 1013 — 1091

SIXTEENTH EPOCH
Republican Administration

Financial disaster. — Social disturbances. — Barn burning. — The Ku Klux.
— The Kirk war. — Judge Brooks upholds the constitution. — Holden im¬
peached. — Resuscitation.

A.D. 1868 — 1873. Chapters 64 — 69. Pages 1092 — 1161

SEVENTEENTH EPOCH
Conservative Administration

Progress. — County government reformed. — Local option begins. — 6,000
schoolhouses and 6,500 church buildings. — The University reopened. — The
College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts started. — The Normal and In¬
dustrial College for Women. — The Farmers Alliance. — It fuses with Repub¬
licans. — Fusion in control. — The Wilmington revolution. — Campaign for
educational qualification for suffrage. — Great advance in all industries and
in social conditions.

A.D. 1874 — 1900. Chapters 69 — 72. Pages 1162 — 1223

EIGHTEENTH EPOCH
Democratic Administration

Quietude and harmony restored. — Prohibition. — Increased population. —
Strenuous efforts made for education. — The functions of government ex¬
panded. — Industries springing up. — Electricity introduced. — Property values,
earnings and incomes largely increased. — Weakness giving place to strength.

War with Germany. — Great efforts of Governor Bickett and the entire
State. — All vie in patriotic action. — North Carolinians in the war on land
and at sea. — Their glorious record. — The era of automobiles. — Good roads.
— The new life. — Great expenditures for schools, buildings and State insti¬
tutions and tremendous expansion of industries. — Department of Revenue.
— Executive Budget. — Improved conditions. — Duke University.

The North manifests appreciation of the patriotism of the South. — The
prosperous State and happy people.

A. D. 1901 — 1925. Chapters 73 — 78. Pages 1224 — 1353

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing

The Academy -at Salem (1803) . 162

The Albemarle, ironclad . 884

The Old Capitol, 1793, Canova’s statue of Washington . 144

The New Capitol, 1840 . 360

Cotton Mill, Schenck-Hoke at Lincolnton, the first at the South, 1813.... 230

Cotton Mill, Fries at Salem, 1837 . 230

Loom and spinning jenny . 230

Map of Battle of Bentonville . 980

Eastern Carolina . 664

Fall of Fort Fisher . 940

Territory Richmond to Fredericksburg . 728

Maryland Campaign . 742

PORTRAITS

Vance, Zebulon B., Unionist till call for troops; War Governor;

U. S. Senator . Frontispiece

Andrews, Alexander Boyd, Vice President Southern Railway . 1090

Ashe, Thomas S., Unionist till call for troops; Representative in Con¬
federate States and United States Congress; jurist . 1034

Ashe, Wjlliam S., author North Carolina Railroad Bill; President of
W. and W. Railroad; major in charge of Confederate transportation.... 476
Avery, Isaac E’rwin, Colonel, in death illustrates spirit of Southland— .1012
Aycock, Charles B., Governor; urgent promoter of education . 1224

Badger, George E., Senator; Unionist till call for troops; offered ordi¬

nance of secession . 590

Barringer, Rufus, urgent for N. C. Railroad; great cavalry general . 476

Battle, Kemp P., Unionist. Revives University; then first President . 1224

Berry, Hattie Morehead, created atmosphere for good roads . 1314

Bickett, Thomas W., efficient World War Governor . 1256

Bickett, Mrs. T. W. (Fannie Yarborough), leader in progress, social

service and many patriotic activities . 1256

Biggs, Asa, Senator; Judge United States and Confederate States Courts. .1202
Bragg, Thomas, Governor; Senator; opposed to secession; Confederate

States Attorney General . 634

Branch, Lawrence O’B., General . 820

Bridgers, Robert R., President Wilmington and Weldon Railroad . 1090

Brooks, George W., Unionist; United States judge; maintains civil law... .1116

Caldwell, Joseph P., editor of Charlotte Observer . 1202

Carr, Julian S., early manufacturer . 1256

Clark, Henry T., acting War Governor . . . 634

Clark, Walter, Chief Justice, author . 1202

Xll

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing

Connor, Henry Groves, eminent jurist; admired citizen; author . 1328

Cotten, Sallie Southall, early woman organizer; author . 1192

Cowan, Robert H., President Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad; influen¬
tial in public action . 1034

Cox, William R., General; fired last volley at Appomattox . 820

Craven, Braxton, President and founder of Trinity College.. . 408

Daniels, Josephus, editor; Secretary of the Navy in the World War;

author . 1280

Davis, George, Peace Conference; Confederate States Senator; Con¬
federate States Attorney General . 634

Dobbin, James C., Secretary of the Navy; orator; eminent citizen . 504

Dudley, Edward B., first railroad president; Governor; progressive . 306

Duke, James Buchanan, manufacturer; developed electricity; established

Duke University and other foundations . 1332

Duke, Washington, early manufacturer . 1188

Ellis, John W., jurist; Governor when State sided with the South . 634

Erwin, William A., cotton manufacturer whose mill villages are ideal.... 1188

Fisher, Charles F., railroad president; colonel; killed at Manassas . 686

Fries, Miss Adelaide L., author; translator of Moravian Records; Pres¬
ident Historical Association . 1814

Gaston, William, eminent jurist and revered citizen . 306

Gilmer, John A., influential leader; devoted Unionist; would go down

on his knees to Lincoln not to begin war . 1 . 590

Graham, William A., Governor; favored North Carolina Railroad; Sec¬
retary of the Navy; devoted Unionist until call for troops; Confederate

States Senator . - . . - . 476

Graves, Calvin, Speaker of the Senate; gave casting vote for North

Carolina Railroad . 416

Grimes, Bryan, Major General; brilliant career; Cox’s brigade of Grimes’s

Division fired last volley at Appomattox . 820

Hawkins, William J., President Raleigh and Gaston Railroad . 1090

Hill, Daniel H., Lieutenant General . 686

Hobbs, Mrs. Mary Mendenhall, educator; urgent for education of women. .1314
Holden, William W., influential editor; Governor in troublous times;

impeached . .1116

Holt, Edwin M., first large manufacturer of cotton goods in State . 1188

Hoke, Robert F., Major General; highly esteemed by Lee; victor at

Plymouth; distinguished at Bentonville . 686

Jarvis, Thomas J., Governor; leader in progress . 1034

Jerman, Mrs. Palmer, President State Federation of Women’s Clubs;
President of Legislative Council; delegate to National Democratic

Convention . 1314

Johnson, Mrs. Kate Burr, first Commissioner of Board of Charities and
Public Welfare . 1314

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing

Joyner, Janies Y., Superintendent of Public Instruction; leader in educa¬
tional movement . - . 1224

Kingsbury, Theodore B., prominent in literature; editor of the Wil¬
mington Star . 1202

Kitchin, Claude, Democratic leader of House of Representatives during

the World War . - . 1280

Mclver, Charles D., promoter of education; founder and President of

State College for Women . 1224

McKimmon, Mrs. Charles, a great benefactor of the State in Home

Demonstration . 1314

McLean, Angus W., Governor; introduced reforms; allowed unusual

powers . 1332

MacRae, Hugh, successful promoter of valuable enterprises . 1256

Mangum, Willie P., jurist; United States Senator . 504

Martin, James G., Adjutant General; organized and prepared the North

Carolina troops in 1861-62 . 634

Meredith, Thomas, editor of Baptist Interpreter (afterwards Biblical
Recorder) ; author of first Constitution of Baptist State Convention.... 504
Merrimon, Augustus S., Unionist until call for troops; United States

Senator; Chief Justice . 590

Mitchell, Elisha, first State Geologist; distinguished educator . 306

Moore, Bartholomew F., Unionist; great lawyer . . . 590

Morehead, John M., Governor; builder of railroads . 476

Moore, Mrs. Marinda Branson, author of school books during the war. ...1192
Morrison, Cameron, Governor; brought to the State the era of hard

surfaced highways and many improvements . 1332

Morrison, Robert Hall, the first president of Davidson; his daughters
married Stonewall Jackson, Generals Hill and Barringer, and Judge

Avery . 408

Murphey, Archibald D., jurist; preceptor of many distinguished public

men; the most progressive statesman of his generation . 306

Overman, Lee S., Senator of great usefulness, especially in World War. ...1280
Page, Frank, successful builder of 5,000 miles of hard-surfaced roads

of untold value to the State . 1332

Pender, William D., Major General; highly esteemed by Lee . 686

Pettigrew, J. Johnston, Major General; highly esteemed by Lee; led in

the charge at Gettysburg . 686

Pearson, Richmond M., Chief Justice of great learning . 1116

Poe, Clarence, editor of the Progressive Farmer; bringing great im¬
provement to the State . 1314

Pritchard, Jeter C., United States Senator; Judge of United States
Circuit Court; very highly esteemed . 1202

XIV

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing

Ransom, Matthew W., orator; General; United States Senator; Minister

to Mexico . 820

Reid, David S., author of “Free Suffrage”; Governor; U. S. Senator . 504

Reilley, Mrs. J. Eugene, a leader in the social elevation of women . 1286

Reynolds, Richard J., successful manufacturer . . . 1286

Robertson, Mrs. Lucy H., President of Greensboro College for Women. ...1314
Ruffin, Thomas, great Chief Justice; Unionist; opposed to secession until

call for troops . 504

Saunders, William L., publicist of ability; Editor Raleigh Observer;

collector and editor of Colonial Records . 1034

Scales, Alfred M., General; Governor, particularly venerated . 820

Settle, Thomas, Unionist until call for troops; orator; jurist of fine

capacity and influence . 590

Shotwell, Randolph A., a martyr of Ku Klux times; editor . 1116

Simmons, Furnifold M., successful leader against Fushion; successful
in establishing educational test for suffrage; Democratic leader in

United States Senate during the World War . 1280

Spencer, Cornelia, eminent author and of wide influence . 1192

Sprunt, James, creator of great commerce; author; eminent citizen . 1328

Stedman, Charles M., esteemed citizen; the last Confederate in Congress. .1280
Swain, David L., Governor; instrumental in reforming the constitution

in 1835; President of the University . 908

Tiernan, Mrs. F. C. (Miss Fisher; Christian Reid), author . 1192

Tompkins, David A., manufacturer and promoter of manufacturing . 1188

Turner, Josiah, Jr., Union man until the call for troops; editor; violent

in opposition to Reconstruction regime . . . 1116

Van Landingham, Mrs. M. O., devoted to stimulating the culture of

woman . 1286

Waddell, James Iredell, the last Confederate in arms; surrendered the

Shenandoah to Great Britain in August, 1865 . 1012

Wait, Samuel, the first President of Wake Forest College . ' . 408

Wheeler, John H., author of History of the State . 1192

Wilson, James, famous engineer in railroad construction . 1090

Wiley, Calvin H., first Superintendent of Public Instruction; author . 408

Winder, John C., military engineer; constructor of railroads, etc . 1090

Winston, George T., President University and A. & M. College; gave

impulse to educational awakening . 1224

Woody, Mary C., of Guilford College . 1286

Worth, Jonathan, Union man until the call for troops; Governor;
esteemed citizen . 1034

INTRODUCTION

•At the period this volume of the history of North Carolina operfs
the State was under the government established by the Constitution
adopted in 1776, with perfect autonomy, but was in association with
the other states forming the Confederacy. The struggle for inde¬
pendence had closed and, in the treaty of peace signed in September
1783, Great Britain formally acknowledged North Carolina and each
of her sister states separately and particularly to be “free, sovereign
and independent states.”

Alexander Martin was Governor ; Ashe, Spencer and Williams were
the Judges; Hawkins, Nash, Williamson and Spaight were the dele¬
gates to the Continental Congress.

HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA

THE DEVELOPED STATE
1783-1924

CHAPTER I

Social Conditions in 1783

Social conditions in 1783. — The general condition of the com¬
monwealth. — No transportation facilities. — The animosity against
the Tories. — The absence of currency. — No facilities for dissemin¬
ating information. — The County Courts. — Their social features. —
Their educational value. — Courts of Equity established. — The low
state of religion. — Asbury’s estimate of the people. — Patillo’s view.
— No religious intolerance. — The Church of England becomes the
Protestant Episcopal Church — The Baptists and Presbyterians. —
The Methodists. — Conditions promotive of illiteracy. — No public
schools. — But few private schools. — No printing press. — Social
culture. — The Masonic Order.— The tone democratic. — The disso¬
lution of the Cincinnati. — Keith sets up a print shop and book
store. — The pamphleteers. — Death of Burke. — The negroes. — The
master’s right in his slaves. — Few great estates. — The negroes
attend church. — The slave trade held injurious. — Free negroes as
Continental soldiers. — They gain the right of suffrage. — Some
become slave-owners — Some effects of the war.

Social conditions in North Carolina in the year 1783, the
year of peace and independence, were Arcadian in their sim¬
plicity. The commonwealth, extending far into the wilder¬
ness, numbered some 350,000 souls, slaves and free, widely
scattered, nearly one-tenth beyond the distant mountains ;
with no city — and indeed only a few villages whose popu¬
lation reached a thousand; as yet commerce, so long inter¬
rupted, had not revived; there were no manufactures save
the work of the men and women in their homes ; but depre¬
ciated currency ; poor markets and only bad highways ; no

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

History
N. C.,

I, 279

Non-

jurors

newspapers, and not a single printing press ; but few schools,
and religious instruction but scantily supplied — in a word,
with nought but freedom and farm products, manhood and
energy.

Nor were the people entirely united in the bonds of amity
and friendship. Probably a full third of the white popula¬
tion had not espoused the cause of separation and independ¬
ence. Early in the struggle a considerable number, un¬
willing to take the test oath, had under the stringent laws of
the State, been forced from their homes and had sought shel¬
ter abroad. Later, when Hamilton, a Scotch merchant, and
MacLeod, a Scotch minister, arranged for the formation of a
loyal regiment, many repaired to the King’s standard. From
time to time others joined this regiment ; but between the sup¬
pression of the Royalists at Moore’s Creek, followed quickly
by the defeat of the British fleet at Charleston, and the ap¬
pearance of Fanning on the upper Cape Fear in 1780, there
was a period of comparative repose, during which the disaf¬
fected adjusted themselves to the prevailing conditions. The
Assembly, session after session, postponed putting into full
operation the confiscation acts, and, practicing tolerance and
conciliation, allowed the Tories to remain unmolested, class¬
ing them, along with the Quakers, as “non-jurors,” but im¬
posing special taxes on them.

The bridge between a “non- juror” and a “good and true
citizen” was opened and made easy to cross; and along with
Rev. George Micklejohn, James Hunter, Dr. Pyle and many
other conspicuous Tories who soon took the test oath, men of
smaller consequence resumed association and fellowship with
their Whig neighbors. But the harrowing events of 1781,
when the malcontents under McNeil and Fanning established
a reign of terror in the Cape Fear region, put an end to toler¬
ation. The inhumanities and butcheries of the closing years
of the long struggle left an indelible mark on the social
conditions of the State. Fierce resentment and implacable
hatred took possession of the contending factions ; and when

REPAIRING WASTE OF WAR

the British Army withdrew many of the Tories departed,
some going to Florida and some to Nova Scotia, where the
negroes carried off by the British also were located, while
others sought new homes in the distant west, even crossing
the mountains and establishing themselves in the outskirts
of the western settlements. It was in that period of ran¬
corous animosity that the former policy of conciliation was
abandoned and measures were taken to enforce the confisca¬
tion laws; and thus' when blessed peace came there were
mingled with the peans of victory loud execrations of the
hated Tories.

The waste of the war had not yet been overcome. Espe¬
cially in the Cape Fear counties had the destruction been
great; and so many families there were in dire need that by a
general law they were to be exempt from the payment of
taxes in the discretion of the county justices. Elsewhere the
inhabitants were suffering because of the absence of markets
and of facilities to dispose of the products of their industry,
but the people were measurably inured to their situation and
had been so long accustomed to their privations that they
scarcely realized the hardships. They had known nothing
better.

Life offered no field for activity but on the farm and in the
forests ; and clearing new land and making forest products
were the only openings for energy and enterprise.

During the war, to supply the necessities of the people as
well as the needs of the army, bounties had been freely
offered to stimulate manufactures, but when the occasion had
passed the bounties ceased. Yet the looms were still busy,
skins were tanned, and furs secured from otters and beavers,
and shoemakers and hatters plied their trades.

At that period factories had not been erected anywhere in
America ; there were no power looms, and only the spinning
jenny and hand weaving were in use, and nails were still
made by hand. But so industrious were the people in their

1783

Antago¬

nisms

Industries

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

1783

Agriculture

homes that many districts not only clothed themselves, but
had a surplus of cotton, linen, and woolen cloths for sale.

In the tidewater regions where naval stores abounded,
men found profitable employment in making tar, pitch, and
turpentine, of which the mercantile world stood in great
need, while lumber and staves were always in demand for
the West Indies. In colonial days trade with the British
Islands in the Caribbean sea had brought in a liberal supply
of specie; but when the State separated herself from the Brit¬
ish empire the restrictive navigation laws obstructed that
commerce.' Yet England soon fostered shipments to her own
ports, and the London merchants hastened to send their goods
to markets that were bare of foreign manufactures.

The great forests of the State, so rich in products, were
virtually unbroken. While near the coast and in the Albe¬
marle regions there were some large plantations, in the in¬
terior the holdings were smaller, and the clearings were only
such as were needed for cultivation. Generally every man
owned his land, and, as there was no labor for hire, tilled
his own fields. Back from the markets where there was a
surplus of corn and grain, hogs and cattle were raised and
driven on foot for sale. Also in some communities grain
was converted into whiskey, and the fruits of the orchard
into brandy.

Agriculture, the chief occupation of the inhabitants, had
long received intelligent application, and despite adverse
conditions presented examples of thrift and skill. At the
east rice and indigo were grown, as well as flax and cotton ;
while along the water-courses, lumber and staves and naval
stores were produced. In the upper country where the soil
and climate were suitable tobacco and the cereals were culti¬
vated, and clover was not unknown. Mr. Hooper, a lawyer
rather than a farmer, wrote to his merchant at Edenton,
“Send me a barrel of clover seed.”

But transportation facilities were sadly lacking ; and back
from the rivers the want of good roads was a serious draw-

CURRENCY PROBLEMS

back. Public highways had been laid out connecting the
back country with the several market towns of the east, but
they could not be maintained in good condition, and the
northwestern counties found it more convenient to trade with
Virginia towns, and southwestern with Charleston. The
exports were tobacco, tar, pitch, turpentine, potash, staves,
lumber, rice, and provisions, all of these except tobacco alone
being the products of the east. Indeed transportation to
market involved such an expense as to largely deprive the
products of the distant interior of their value.

Necessarily all sales of products were made to merchants,
who established themselves at convenient points in the inte¬
rior, and setting their own prices, made great gains by their
bargains.

Of money there was none ; the State as well as the Con¬
tinental currency had ceased to have value, and to express
utter worthlessness the phrase was coined — “not worth a
continental." Money is not only of value in itself, but it is
the standard by which the value of other things is measured
and the chief instrument of commerce by which exchanges
are made, and the very foundation stone of credit. When
the State and Continental paper fell, there was virtually
no specie in circulation. Neither gold nor silver had been
found in any of the colonies, and the entire country was
dependent on such foreign coin as could be obtained for
commodities, and there were but few commodities to send
abroad. The people were indeed without a currency. In
the extremity recourse was again had to an issue of State
bills. At the April meeting of the Assembly a proposition
to emit new bills, matured by William Blount, met with
general concurrence. To give the issue a footing of sub¬
stantial value a special tax was levied to redeem it, and its
redemption was further secured by a pledge of all the con¬
fiscated property of the Tories held by the State. The cur¬
rency of the Revolution had been dollars to distinguish it
from colonial issues ; and now to emphasize that the new

1783

Exports

C. R., XXIV
475

The

currency

1783

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

No interior
mails

The County
Courts

issue was on a distinct footing, it was in pounds and shil¬
lings, the pound being of the value of two and a half silver
dollars. The shilling was the same as the Spanish “bit,”
later twelve and a half cents. The amount was conserva¬
tively limited to a hundred thousand pounds.

There were no buggies, but few coaches, and traveling
was on horseback, men riding their own horses hundreds
of miles, and the women seldom visiting out of their neigh¬
borhood. The Assembly had established no mail facilities,
but the post route opened at the beginning of the Revolu¬
tion, along the coast, passing through Edenton and New
Bern and Wilmington, had been continued by Congress and
was still in operation, but there were no post ridings to the
interior. Letters were sent by hand. Without means of com¬
munication, the dissemination of intelligence among the peo¬
ple was slow and unreliable. Information about current
affairs was acquired by conversations at casual meetings, at
religious gatherings and the sessions of the county courts.
Indeed, these quarterly courts had no inconsiderable educa¬
tional value. More than any other instrumentality they
kept the people in touch with civilization. In every dis¬
trict of each county there were two or more justices of the
peace, and constables, and often a deputy sheriff. The jus¬
tices were men of responsibility and approved character, and
around them centered a strong personal influence. They met
quarterly at the courthouse and administered the public af¬
fairs of the county. They laid taxes, appointed officers,
provided for the poor, looked after the orphans and the set¬
tlement of estates of deceased persons. They laid off roads,
appointed the overseers and directed the construction of
bridges. In a word they exercised all the powers of govern¬
ment in matters of local interest in the several neighborhoods
of the county. Also, they tried offenses against the law and
civil suits between litigants. Necessarily they were attended
by many jurors, witnesses and parties interested in their
proceedings. Others with no particular business likewise

COUNTY COURTS

attended from a desire of intercourse with fellow-men ; and
so those occasions thus drew great crowds together, and at
such times private accounts were settled, trades were made,
and ordinarily there was much swapping of horses, and oc¬
casional trials of speed, for the people dearly loved a horse
race ; also, there were more or less drinking and carousing,
and contests, friendly and otherwise, of personal prowess.
It was always a field day when court met. But apart from
the social side of such meetings, in addition to these oppor¬
tunities of social intercourse, there was a distinct value in
training the people in respect for law, and in educating them
in local administration, in legal processes and in matters of
public concern. Many a man who could read no word in a
book knew well the common law of the land, knew private
rights and wrongs, knew nice distinctions and could weigh
with unerring judgment the value of evidence. As deficient
in schooling as the Barons of Runnymede, they had intelli¬
gence trained by experience into practical wisdom.

In 1783 the system of judicature was perfected by invest¬
ing the Superior Court judges with equity jurisdiction, such
as the Court of Chancery had under the Crown, but which
had not been exercised by any court since the Revolution.
There was, however, a provision that no final decree should
be entered except when two judges were present. Now,
the hardships of strict law were mitigated by an appeal
to conscience, and while the judges might enter a judg¬
ment in the law court, sitting in equity, they could enjoin its
execution.

Religion, the traditional inheritance of the race, meas¬
urably entered into the lives of the people who, however,
were generally neither warmly attached to doctrine nor very
demonstrative in their zeal. Francis Asbury noted in his
Journal in April, 1780, that he preached in Halifax County
to about five hundred persons — and “the people were sol¬
emnly attentive." A few days later, he found “people were

Courts of

equity

Religion

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

1"80 for the ordinances, though not heated.” At the Tabernacle,

about four hundred attended : — “The people very insensi¬
ble. I think these people must be awakened by judgment, for
it appears the gospel will not do it” ; on Sunday at Green
Hill’s, Franklin County, O’Kelly “raised high, and was very
affecting, but to little purpose. There are evils here, — the
meeting not solemn : the women appeared to be full of dress ;
the men full of news. The people are gospel slighters : I
fear some heavy stroke will come on them.” Somewhat
later Rev. Henry Patillo, a learned and observant Presby¬
terian minister, a man of great liberality and thoroughly
imbued with a spirit of Christianity, wrote : “As to our
young people, and others not well settled in their principles
joining with other professions, and particularly the Metho¬
dists, I would just observe that this seems to be the versatile
season with America ; and a change of religious profession
has become almost as common and as little noted as the vari¬
ations of the weather in this most changeable climate.”

This zealous Presbyterian also mentioned having received
warm, friendly letters from the Methodists — whose bias nat¬
urally was towards the Church of England — “expressing
c. R., xxiv, their wishes to cultivate a nearer intercourse, and that bigotry
might cease among Christians”; nor were the Baptists of a
different mind, for he likewise pointed to “the friendly inter¬
course that subsists between the Baptists and us in all re¬
spects, except communion, known and acknowledged by all.”
Altogether, the picture he presents is free from the baneful
spirit of religious intolerance. Indeed no zealous attach¬
ment to doctrine can be observed, but, rather, there was an
expressed desire of Christian fellowship. Doubtless in those
years when the denominations were unorganized and when
there was an insufficient number of ministers, there was a
loosening of religious ties and an indisposition to adhere
closely to doctrine ; but the seeds of piety had been sown and
were planted in a fruitful soil, even if they lay dormant for

a season.

PASTORLESS CHURCHES

In colonial days the Church of England had in some meas¬
ure been organized in the eastern counties, especially near the
Virginia line, but as constituted, upon the declaration of
independence it was a solecism and out of place in the col¬
onies. A portion of the National Church of England, with
the rubric of the Book of Common Prayer requiring a prayer
for the King, it did not fit the new conditions. Its mem¬
bers had been foremost in asserting their political rights,
and under their leadership, chiefly, the Revolution had been
begun and brought to a successful close. Notwithstanding
the separation from England, by them it continued to be re¬
garded as the Apostolic church, and they remained true to
their faith and devotedly attached to the rites, ceremonies
and practices of “the church.” While the position of the
laymen was thus peculiar, that of the ministers, being under
the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, was full of embar¬
rassment. One of them, Rev. Mr. Wills, at Wilmington,
withdrew from his charge in 1775, although he remained
on the Cape Fear and performed the marriage service and
perhaps other rites during- the war. As the • ordination of
a new minister could be only by the Bishop of London, no
other was then called, and twenty years elapsed before that
pulpit was again filled.

At New Bern, Rev. Mr. Reed, although a Loyalist, con¬
tinued to officiate ; while the Edenton congregation had the
services of Rev. Charles Pettigrew, a warm patriot, in the
place of the Rev. Mr. Earle, who, in 1775, retired to his farm
in Bertie County, although his sympathies were with the
people. Rev. George Mickle john, the pastor at Hillsboro,
who was taken at Moore’s Creek, remained in the State and
eventually took the test oath, and after peace was a minister
in Virginia. The other incumbents are said to have been in
sympathy with the Revolution and to have continued their
services without interruption. But on the separation from
their mother country, there being no method of procuring
ordination, the power of the organization to perpetuate itself

Church of
England

Vass:

Presbyterian
Church, 78

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

1783

The Baptists

The Presby¬
terians

The

Methodists

ceased. In addition to this drawback the association of the
church with the English hierarchy and its theoretical connec¬
tion with the British government were distinct influences
adverse to its being regarded with favor by the struggling
patriots. Its members were as sheep in a wilderness without
a shepherd. The three orders of ministers were essential
to its existence, and there was no bishop in America. Natur¬
ally it was engulfed in stagnant waters, and years elapsed
before it revived. In 1783 in Maryland, it assumed the name
of ‘‘The Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland,” and
that name was adopted by a General Convention held three
years later. About the same time the consecration of bishops
was secured ; and that deficiency was supplied. But so weak
were its adherents in North Carolina that year after year
passed without any effort at organization, and when efforts
were made, about 1790, they failed of success.

Nor were the other denominations, in the eastern counties,
in a much more vigorous condition. Although there were a
few Presbyterian congregations on the waters of the Cape
Fear, in 1783 there seems to have been no minister of that
faith east of Granville. The Baptists, however, were better
settled, and there were Baptist ministers, especially in the
northern counties, each congregation being separate and in¬
dependent. Farther west the Baptists were still more
flourishing ; and there also the Presbyterians were well estab¬
lished, having at the end of the Revolution about a dozen
pastors actively at work — men of high repute, and teachers as
well as preachers to their flocks. In 1770 Orange Presbytery
had been organized, and in 1788 the Synod of the Carolinas
was formed. It was in that year that Rev. Mr. Patillo, who
was located in Granville, published at Wilmington, his
volumes of sermons. He also published an interesting vol¬
ume on geography, printed in 1790, at Halifax, by Hodge.

The first Methodist Societies organized in North Carolina
looked to Rev. Mr. Wesley as their head, and recognized the
authority of the ministers of the Church of England ; and,

PIONEER PREACHERS

indeed, they were regarded as being within the fold of that
church. Dr. Coke was of that communion, and the first
Methodist to preach in the State, James Pilmoor, after¬
wards became an Episcopal minister in New York. Like the
Church of England, the Methodists suffered some detriment
because of the conflict with the mother county, whence had
emanated the influences that established and controlled the
societies; but in 1784, at a Conference held at Baltimore, a
new, distinct and separate organization was adopted. Yet
notwithstanding the Methodists thus severed connection with
the Protestant Episcopal Church, Christian fellowship was
still maintained.

In 1780 Francis Asbury had traveled through the northern
central counties, visiting the societies that had been estab¬
lished, and the year after the new organization he and Dr.
Coke held at Green Hill’s house, Franklin County, the first
Conference. But despite the zeal and activity of the minis¬
ters, the growth of the Methodists, like that of the other de¬
nominations, was slow in the State. The people in many com¬
munities of the center and east had lived so long without
regular ministrations that they had become somewhat in¬
different to the formalisms and doctrines of church organi¬
zations. The Quakers and Moravians, being men of peace,
had not suffered much during the war, but rather had reaped
the reward of their steady habits and productive industry.
The German Lutherans, whose church services were still
in German, however, felt the effects of the war, like their
neighbors, the Scotch-Irish.

Unhappily, conditions in general were promotive of illit¬
eracy, for educational facilities were meager and insufficient.
The proposition to establish a public school in every county,
made during Governor Dobbs’s administration, had come to
naught because some English merchants objected to the issue
of currency proposed for that purpose ; and Governor Dobbs
having omitted to inform the Assembly of the particular
objection, the obstacle was never removed.

First

conference

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

Dickson’s
Letters, 31

The subject thus passed out of view and no further effort
was made for general education at public expense. There
were some private schools, but they were inadequate for the
general education of the people. Yet the condition was not
so bad but that it could be worse ; and apparently it became
worse. In 1826 Governor Burton urged on the Assembly :
“Many enlightened persons believe that it is more difficult
for an individual in ordinary circumstances to obtain for his
child, at this time, the common rudiments of education than
it was at the period when our Constitution was adopted.”

Although there was a constitutional provision requiring
the establishment of public schools, and also of a university,
yet the provision was long inoperative. No general system
of public instruction had been introduced anywhere except
alone in Massachusetts ; and circumstances were adverse to
its inauguration in North Carolina. Education by the State
has been a development of a more recent period. It was not
then demanded by the spirit of the times. The scarcity of
money made it difficult to pay taxes, and there was a general
reluctance to pay public dues ; but more than all, the isolated
lives of the separate farmers, residing in sparsely settled
neighborhoods, led them to be indifferent to education. In¬
deed, as Dickson expressed it, “the genius of the people was
not adapted to the study of learning and science. The objects
they had in view were money and pleasure.”

There were no magazines, no newspapers, or story books
to stir the mind, to nourish the imagination, to exercise the
mental faculties. Acquaintance with the art of reading and
writing but little enlarged the horizon of life or added to the
zest of living. In that primitive condition of existence, such
education as could be obtained was of slight service in the
daily routine of farm work, and was not felt to be indis¬
pensable, either for its usefulness or as contributing to
recreation in the family circle. The labors of the day were
not supplemented by intellectual pleasures. A considerable
number of the poorer settlers probably had been without the

ILLITERACY

rudiments of an education, and illiteracy was on the increase
among that portion of the inhabitants. An essayist, writing
of Caswell County, says: “Between 1775 and 1800 a com¬
mon English education — to read, write and cypher, was ob¬
tained by only one-half of the people of that county.” Else¬
where it was largely the same. The absence of public schools
bore heavily on the social condition of the interior. Yet
there were individual efforts to maintain primary schools and
even academies. At every session of the Assembly some new
academy was incorporated, and trustees appointed to manage
its affairs ; but necessarily the influence of these was limited
largely to the vicinity of the villages where they were situ¬
ated and to those more prosperous families that had always
enjoyed the advantages of education, for in every county and
settlement there were then as now, some families of education
who knew its value and fully appreciated its beneficial in¬
fluences, and no sacrifice was accounted too great to obtain
it for the children.

In that period of isolation when there was so little room
for intellectual effort, the art of letter writing was practiced
by few, and, other than the public records, the memorials
of the time are scant and meager. Nor has the small stock
of what survived the uses of the day been carefully guarded.
Williamson, Martin, Murphey, Hooper, and others sought, in
succeeding generations, to gather up the scattered fragments
for historical purposes, but their collections have all disap¬
peared. McRee later performed a grateful service in pub¬
lishing the correspondence of Iredell, and, if we may judge
from the elegant diction and refined sentiments of that cor¬
respondence, even in the darkest hours there were circles
here and there throughout the State, of a high order of
social culture and literary merit.

Nor were there lacking the beneficial influences attending
the order of the Masonic fraternity, which, established early
in colonial life, was revived after the war. On the death, in
1776, of Grand Master Joseph Montfort, who held under

Coon, 1-64

Letters

The Masons

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

Haywood :
Beginnings
of Freema¬
sonry in
N. C., 14

The Cin¬
cinnati

S. R„

XVIV, 793

Davis: N. C.
Society of
Cincinnati,
53-55

A ruling
class

authority of a British commission, the Grand Lodge ceased
for twenty years; but in 1787 representatives from ten
lodges met at Tarboro, and, setting up an independent
authority, elected Samuel Johnston Grand Master. Caswell,
Davie and many of the other leading men of the day were
members. Since then the order has always been a factor in
the life of the people.

The general tone of society was more democratic and less
aristocratic than either in Virginia or in South Carolina.
But the form of government, a representative republic, was
somewhat calculated to foster a class distinction. The ab¬
sence of great fortunes tended to suppress social pretensions
based on wealth and not founded on personal worth, public
service and popular applause; and there was a jealousy of
other distinction. An indication of the prevailing sentiment
may be gathered from the speedy dissolution of the patriotic
order of the Cincinnati. This order was organized in the
State by the Continental officers at Hillsborough in October,
1783, General Jethro Sumner being chosen President. In
the Assembly, a year later, a petition was presented against
the order by General John Butler, who introduced a bill
to render any member of it ineligible to a seat in the Assem¬
bly. His measure did not pass, but the opposition to the so¬
ciety was so strong as to control the action of the former
Continental officers, to whom it was imputed that they de¬
signed to establish themselves as a peerage. On the death
of General Sumner he was succeeded by Colonel John B.
Ashe ; but after a few years the society informally dissolved.
Notwithstanding this democratic tendency, the Assemblymen
virtually formed a class of rulers. They were generally men
of substance in their counties, who drew around themselves
such strong influences that they were almost continuously
reelected to their seats. They elected all the great officers,
and determined the policy of the State. Doubtless they were
not inattentive to public opinion, which, however, they exer¬
cised a great power in forming; and although advocates of

PRINTING PRESS

a democracy, they were measurably the ruling class in the
State. It is much to their credit that legislation was sound,
liberal and judicious, and the Assembly always responded
to suggestions tending to the general welfare. In addition,
it may be said that the Assembly generally recognized merit,
and there was a liberality of sentiment illustrated in the elec¬
tion to high office of men but recently settled in the State and
unsupported by great family influence.

The need of a printing press was keenly felt, and in the
summer of 1783 Robert Keith set up one at New Bern, and
in August he issued the first number of the North Carolina
Gazette. There had been no newspapers published in the
State in several years and the advent of this was hailed with
interest and satisfaction. The office was “near the church
where the subscriptions, essays and articles of intelligence
are gratefully received.” It was on a demy sheet, with clear
type, and was offered for three Spanish milled dollars per
annum. One of the printer lads was Francis Xavier Martin,
a French boy, who had been stranded at New Bern. Con¬
nected with his printing office, Keith opened a book store
and offered to the public Edwards on Original Sin , Baker
on the Divine Attributes, a choice collection of hymns; and,
for the use of schools, Testaments, spelling books, primers
and writing paper. Quills alone were used for writing. The
opening of a print shop speedily led to publications. No
longer was it necessary for the pamphleteers to circulate their
manuscripts by sending them from town to town by trusty
messengers to secure safe delivery and preservation.

In the fall, Judge Spencer, over the signature of Atticus,
printed an article on the Constitution, probably discussing
the Loyalist, and John Hay, as Tiberius Gracchus, put out
in a six-penny pamphlet an essay which in manuscript he had
read to a coterie of admiring friends, ridiculing the Assem¬
bly and so violently assailing Judge Sitgreaves that Keith
had to divulge the author’s name, resulting in a personal al¬
tercation. Then Hay and the bench drifted apart. There

The press

Weeks :
Press of
N. C., 38

The

pamphleteers

McRee : Life
of Iredell,

75, 76, 95

1 6

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

McRee : Life
of Iredell, 96

Death of
Burke

McRee: Life
of Iredell, 83

The slaves

Census 1790

quickly followed a war in which Cusatti, Sully, The Citizen,
and The True Citizen bore their parts; also Germanicus.
The Citizen was imputed to Judge Williams and Richard
Henderson, the polishing touches being given by Governor
Martin.

But one printing office did not suffice, and in March, 1784,
another weekly was begun at Halifax; and perhaps one also
at Hillsboro ; and so disputants had several instruments
of warfare. No one would have entered with greater zest
and more caustic pen into these literary controversies than
the brilliant Irishman, Dr. Burke; but his race was run. In
December, 1784, that choice spirit passed away. His friend
Hooper thus announced his melancholy fate : “Dr. Burke
died about a fortnight since and fell, in some measure, a
sacrifice to the obstinacy which marked his character through
life. Laboring under a complication of disorders, oppressed
with the most agonizing pains, which for months had de¬
prived him of his natural rest; and to sum up his misery, no
domestic prop to lean upon — no friend or companion at his
home to soothe the anguish of his mind or mitigate the pain
of his body — was not death to him a comforter, a friend
and physician?”

At the peace there were about ninety thousand slaves
in North Carolina and five thousand free negroes. The lo¬
cation of the colored element of population was an incident
of settlement. The western counties were settled chiefly
by immigrants coming overland from Pennsylvania. These
were accompanied by no negroes; and so, few Africans, rel¬
atively, were to be found at the west. Near the northern
line as far as Surry, the settlement was largely from Vir¬
ginia, and the planters brought their negroes with them.
Along the coast, including Brunswick and New Hanover,
negroes were comparatively numerous ; but farther in the in¬
terior, where immigrants direct from Europe located, there
were not so many. The free negroes were found chiefly in
the older counties, where indeed there were more blacks

STATUS OF SLAVES

1 7

than elsewhere. In 1790 Halifax returned 6,506 slaves and
446 free negroes. Northampton and Bertie together, 9,650
slaves and 751 free negroes. In New Hanover and four ad¬
jacent counties there were 10,116 slaves and 215 free negroes.
In Iredell, 846 slaves and 3 free negroes. In colonial times
free negroes paid taxes like the whites, but could not vote.
They lived apart and were not allowed free intercourse with
the slaves.

Slaves descended as other property. The master’s right to
rule was complete; but while he could punish, he could not
take the life of a slave. Slaves could have no right to any
property — but no one could interfere with them except the
owner. They were amenable to the law for offenses, but the
masters often protected them from punishment when charged
with minor offenses ; when one was executed, the owner was
allowed his value, but in 1786 this practice was discontinued.
They lived on their master’s premises ; and he was required
to provide for their necessities ; to care for them in sickness
and in age.

Slaves generally were not allowed to use firearms, but the
county court, on application of the owner, licensed one slave
on each plantation to carry a gun for the purpose of protect¬
ing the property from depredations. The conduct of the
farm, the administration and system of work and of living,
was under the regulation of the master. Some slaves were
taught to be carpenters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, coopers
and shoemakers, and the women to spin and weave. Often
the farm raised its own wool and cotton, tanned its own
leather, had its smithy and shop for wood work, and made
its own shoes and clothing. In all this work, as well as in all
farm work, some negroes were trained and skilled. Gen¬
erally .the farm or plantation was managed by the master,
and in his absence one of the slaves, as “foreman,” super¬
vised the work with orderly precision.

There were but few great estates in North Carolina. In
1790, the largest slaveowner, Cullen Pollok, listed on four
2

Debates,
Conv. 1835,
p. 65

Their work

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

The

slaveholders

The negroes
and religion

plantations 372; Whitewell Hall, 270; Benjamin Luther, 221';
Robert Haynes and Thomas Eaton in Warren, each 138.
The next largest was Willie Jones, with 120; then Mr. Col¬
lins, 1 13; Peter Mallet, 103; and Governor Samuel John¬
ston owned 96. Only twelve persons listed 100. Hardly two
hundred persons had as many as 50. Largely more than half
the people owned none at all, while hundreds possessed only
one or two. On the larger plantations the negro families
had their separate houses, with small gardens attached,
some distance from the mansion; and had such pleasures
and recreations as their masters chose to allow. When
the number of slaves was small they lived near the mansion,
and were brought into very close association with the white
family; and, in effect, all constituted a family. The men
were “men of all work,” and the women and children were
employed about the domicile. This association had an educa¬
tional advantage and tended distinctly to the elevation of
the negro. Whatever there was of beneficence in the in¬
stitution of African slavery thus had, perhaps^ its best de¬
velopment in North Carolina, where the country negroes
seem to have attained a somewhat more advanced condition
than elsewhere.

Generally, slaves had such opportunities for religious in¬
struction as the condition of the country afforded. Writing
in 1788, Rev. Mr. Patillo remarked that they composed a
part of most congregations, and in those under his charge
there were 150 negro communicants. Very ignorant, they
were at first taken on trial before admitted to baptism or
the communion. “In the meantime the black members
are very diligent with them, instructing them, and narrowly
inspecting their conduct.” Most masters indulged their
slaves in liberty of conscience, whether religious or other¬
wise, while “pious masters have great disquiet and vexation
from the untractable and incorrigible temper of their slaves.”
“Of the religious negroes in my congregation some are en¬
trusted with a kind of eldership, so far as to keep a watch-

SLAVE TRADE

ful eye over the black members. . . . The great matter of
scandal among the negroes arises from their marriages or
matches. Masters are so often selling their slaves, or re¬
moving to a distance, that as the creatures generally belong
to different masters, they are often parted, or their places
of residence become so distant that they can seldom see
each other. Many masters, however, will rather exchange
or sell, than part husband and wife.” A few can read a
plain book, and many more would learn on Lord’s Day and
sleeping time if they had spelling books, catechisms, Testa¬
ments and Watts’s hymns, as they are peculiarly fond of
singing.” At that period there was no legal inhibition
against teaching slaves to read and write.

Property right in the person of the African slave was the
law of the New World at the time North Carolina was set¬
tled. It was a part of the institutions of every community.
Incident to it was the slave trade, a commerce that came
to be reprobated in America earlier than elsewhere. In
every colony, from the earliest times, there were some in¬
dividuals who were opposed both to slavery and the slave
trade. In August, 1774, the freeholders of Rowan County
resolved that: “The African slave trade is injurious to
this colony, obstructs the population of it by freemen, pre¬
vents manufacturers and other useful immigrants from
Europe from settling among us, and occasions an annual in¬
crease in the balance of trade against the colony.” • This
declaration was followed a few days later by a resolution of
the first Provincial Convention, that “we will not import 01-
purchase any slave brought into this province from any part
of the world after the first day of November next.” This
resolve was observed by the people and enforced by the
Committee of Safety. The next year Jefferson’s declaration
“that all men are created equal — ” received universal as¬
sent, but that evidently had reference to the right to modify
governments, and had no bearing on the status of the Afri¬
can slaves in the colonies. Yet the thought was expressed

Attitude to
slavery

C. R„ IV,
1026
1046

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

C. R., XXIV,
14

Ibid., 221,
336

Free negro
militia

C. R., XXIV,
639

Debates,
Conv. 1835,
p. 65

Racial

differences

and disseminated. Owners had the right of manumission,
and apparently manumissions were multiplied, while the
inconveniences of slavery became more pronounced when the
struggle for independence began and the British sought to
incite both the Indians and negroes to become their allies.
At the very first session of the Assembly under the new Con¬
stitution, “because of the evil and pernicious practice of
freeing slaves, at this alarming and critical time, the personal
right to manumit was taken away, a license from the County
Court being made requisite, and the court was forbidden to
grant the license except for ‘meritorious services.’ ”

Notwithstanding the racial difference, the negroes were a
part of the population, and could render service — both bond
and free. During the war the latter were enrolled in the
militia, and performed military service as other freemen.
Slaves, like Indians, Hessian deserters and some others, were
not to be accepted as substitutes for drafted men ; but, with
their master’s consent, they could enlist ; and some did enlist
and rendered faithful service as soldiers in the Continental
ranks as well as in the State troops. One slave, Ned Griffin,
of Edgecombe, having under a promise of freedom served
faithfully for twelve months as a Continental, a special act
of the Assembly was passed to enfranchise him and “dis¬
charge him from the yoke of slavery,” and he was declared
“a freeman in every respect.” As with him, so was it with
others;- after the Revolution free negroes became freemen in
every respect. And thus it came about that they obtained
the privilege of suffrage, which they enjoyed until the Con¬
stitution was amended in 1835. , But their legal status, as
well as that of the slave, was anomalous, and the Congress of
the United States at its second session excluded them from
being enrolled in the militia. Negroes could not give evi¬
dence against a white man, and in some respects they were
not regarded as citizens. But free negroes had property
rights, and generally speaking had all the benefits of the law.
Many became men of substance, and they sometimes owned

IMPORTATION OF SLAVES

slaves. James Lowry, apparently the progenitor of the out¬
law Henry Berry Lowry, was in 1790 the owner of several
slaves. Many other free negroes likewise were slaveowners.
One who had served in the Revolution, John Chavis, not only
was a slaveholder but was a school-teacher, having among
his pupils some boys who afterwards became men of renown.
He was also a Presbyterian minister.

After commerce was reopened slaves were again im¬
ported, but in 1786 their importation was declared productive
of evil consequences and highly impolitic, and in order to
arrest it a tax of ten pounds was laid on the importation of
the most able-bodied, with a smaller duty on others. Some
of the northern states had already taken measures to abolish
slavery, and their slaves were being sold to southern planters.
North Carolina did not propose to allow this transfer to her
territory of negroes who in their own states had the hope of
freedom, and by act of Assembly it was forbidden to bring
into North Carolina any slave from any state that had taken
such a step, and should any be imported contrary to that
act, they were to be immediately returned to the place from
which they were brought. While the institution of negro
slavery was thus perpetuated after the Revolution, yet the
importation of slaves was regarded as injurious and North
Carolina was not favorable to a continuance of the slave
trade. The influence of the Quaker element of the popula¬
tion was distinctly against the institution of slavery, and per¬
haps the prevalence of such sentiments was a natural result
of the war itself.

Indeed the Revolution not only called forth many virtues
but developed much latent ability. When the war began,
says Ramsay, the Americans were a mass of husbandmen,
merchants, mechanics and fishermen ; but the necessities of
the country gave a spring to the active powers of the inhab¬
itants, and set them thinking, speaking, and acting, in a
line far beyond that to which they had been accustomed. It
seemed as if the war not only required, but created talents.

Census 1790

S. R., XXIV,
793

1786

To arrest
importation

S. R., XXIV,
794

Effects of
the

Revolution

SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN 1783

Men, whose minds were warmed with the love of liberty, and
whose abilities were improved by daily exercise, and sharp¬
ened with a laudable ambition to serve their distressed coun¬
try, spoke, wrote and acted with an energy far surpassing
all expectation which could be reasonably founded on their
previous acquirements.

The long years of the struggle had been a period of
great intellectual activity, and the creation and adminis¬
tration of government had thoroughly awakened the people
and vitalized their energies. Great writers were produced,
great thoughts had penetrated the minds of the masses,
and heart and soul, body and mind, alike, had been on the
rack, and tens of thousands of men, bred in solitude, had
moved over the face of the country, every faculty quickened
and stimulated and every passion brought often into play.
Thus, as in all long and arduous contests, the people emerged
from the war, uplifted by the struggle, developed in all their
faculties, broader in thought, stronger in action, more re¬
sourceful, and with higher powers and nobler aims than be¬
fore they had suffered the fearful experience ; and, besides,
they were inspired with a great hope, a great confidence in
the future of their country.

CHAPTER II

1783-1785

Alexander Martin's Administration

Attitude towards the Tories. — Dissatisfaction with the Treaty. —
The perilous condition of the Union. — Action at Edenton. — The
settlement on the Cumberland and growth of the Watauga coun¬
ties. — Land granted to the soldiers; to Henderson. — The Assembly
of April 1784. — Martin’s progressive address. — Reelected. — Entails
abolished. — Advanced legislation. — Lands of Tories held forfeited.
— Fayetteville incorporated. — Rivers to be made navigable. —
Clubfoot and Harlow canal. — Special Commerce Courts.' — The
Treaty not observed. — The offer to Congress of the Western Ter¬
ritory. — Conditions beyond the mountains. — The people assert in¬
dependence. — The Assembly meets in October. — A census ordered
to be taken. — Caswell elected Governor. — Liberty Hall moved to
Salisbury. — Science Hall. — Oath of allegiance modified. — Quakers
allowed to wear hats in court. — The three-fifths rule. — Duties laid
for Congress. — Indignation at greed of other states. — The offer
to 'Congress withdrawn. — The District of Washington. — Sevier
elected General. — The people of Franklin disregard the repeal. —
They adopt a Constitution. — Sevier Governor, and Caswell County
erected. — The currency of the new State. — Martin’s admonitions
disregarded. — Franklin seeks admission into the Confederacy. —
Efforts to control the people in vain. — Martin calls the Assembly
to meet. — Congress urges North Carolina to annul her repealing
act. — Caswell Governor. — The Assembly without a quorum.

Although the year 1783 brought peace it was not un¬
marked by agitations. The doubts, the dangers, the vi¬
cissitudes of the war were passed ; a new standpoint was
gained ; but new questions arose to engage the attention
of men, enlisting their sympathies, awakening their appre¬
hensions and arousing their passions. In the final draft
of the Treaty of Peace Great Britain had sought to conserve
the interests of the Loyalists who, as dutiful subjects, had
made great sacrifices in behalf of their Sovereign and had
staunchly and vigorously maintained the Royal cause. She
secured a stipulation that debts to British creditors were to
be paid in full ; that there were to be no further confiscations
or prosecutions ; and that Congress was to earnestly recom-

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

1783

The feeling
against the
Tories

mend restitution of all rights and property. When this
provision of the Treaty, at first withheld by Congress, was
eventually made public the country was at once aflame. In
every state there were the same vigorous protests. The
Patriots would grant no favor to the Tories. It was im¬
puted to these enemies of their country that they had
cheered the British when despondent, and, by their zealous
partisanship, had greatly prolonged the hopeless struggle
for British supremacy ; that they had given to the contest
its particular cast of brutality and had been the chief actors
in the butcheries that marked its progress ; that they had
applied the torch to their neighbors’ houses with relentless
barbarity, and had wantonly destroyed property while mur¬
dering the unfortunate victims of their vengeance. Some
prudent men realized that better temper should prevail,
and urged that the Treaty under which independence was
secured should be sacredly observed in every part. But
these were few in number, and their arguments served to
intensify rather than assuage the prevailing bitterness.

The revolt of the soldiers

A question not arousing equal passion but of yet more
vital importance related to the Union that had successfully
carried the colonies through the long war to independence.
The Confederacy was burdened by a crushing debt, and
was bankrupt. Its currency was without value ; the public
creditors were unpaid and there was no power to impose a
tax. Worse than all, no provision could be made to settle
with the soldiers who had won independence and were now
in their camps clamoring for their arrearages. To meet
this exigency Congress directed that Washington’s veterans,
although unpaid, should return to their homes on furlough.
As the army was being thus disbanded a hundred mal¬
contents of the Pennsylvania line marched from Lancaster
to Philadelphia to demand of the Pennsylvania Council

FINANCIAL STRAITS

payment of their dues. Joined by others until they became
a formidable mob, they surrounded the building in which
not only the Council but the Continental Congress was in
session, and encircled it with a cordon of bayonets. An¬
archy was about to supplant all authority. Eventually the
members of the Congress succeeded in escaping; and they,
with indignation, resolved h> leave Philadelphia and meet at
Princeton. Washington, always prompt, hurried General
Robert Howe to the scene with a sufficient force to quell
the mutineers. The boldness of the mob and the indignity
to Congress alarmed the friends of established government
who saw rising above the horizon a portentous cloud that
threatened the destruction of all law and order. Gloomy
apprehensions and painful forebodings thus followed fast
the general rejoicings. The financial straits into which the
government had fallen were assuredly deplorable and ap¬
parently without remedy. Unanimity was requisite for ac¬
tion and the negative of a single state could defeat any
measure ; and as the power to levy taxes was not conferred
on Congress it could only apportion the amount needed
among the states and leave it to them to raise their quotas
by taxation.

The Articles of Confederation

North Carolina was not indifferent to these radical de¬
fects in the Articles of Confederation. In the darkest hour
of her own distress, July, 1781, she had with her accustomed
zeal assented to the levying of a five per cent duty for the
use of the United States ; but other states withheld their
sanction and the measure had not become operative. The
varying interests of the different states raised obstacles
that rendered all efforts for unity abortive. The common
debts remained unsettled and unsecured. The pledges of
the states were unredeemed, and the Confederation was
about to vanish in ruin and disgrace. No state was more

The straits
of the

government

North

Carolina’s

attitude

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

1783

McRee :
Life of
Iredell
II, 89

Maclaine

alive to the situation than North Carolina; nor were any
delegates more zealous than hers. In February, 1783, Wil¬
liamson wrote from Congress to Iredell: “For more than
three weeks we have been constantly engaged in fixing a
scale for settling the quotas of the different states. To¬
day we have agreed on one resolution which the Southern
States have carried with great difficulty. I believe we
failed in twenty different plans before we fixed on one.
The framers of our Confederation, with reverence be it said,
were not infallible. Congress has reserved the power of
making treaties ; these treaties include the relations of com¬
merce ; we borrow money and have not the means of paying
sixpence. There is no measure, however wise or necessary,
that may not be defeated by a single state, however small
or wrong headed. The cloud of public creditors, including
the army, is gathering about us ; the prospect thickens.”
The picture was gloomy indeed.

The Tories

During that summer, hostilities being over, a number of
Tories, who had formerly abandoned their homes, returned
to the State. Several came to Wilmington, but the popular
ill will ran so high against them that they quickly withdrew.
Their enforced departure irritated those inhabitants who
had social and friendly relations with them and led par¬
ticularly to the estrangement of Archibald Maclaine, who
had been a strong patriot, from many with whom he had
previously cooperated. As time passed his sympathies and
interests became more and more involved with the Loyal¬
ists, and he grew in bitterness towards those whose faces
were hard set against them. At Edenton, ever the seat of
vigorous zeal guided by high intelligence, these public mat¬
ters agitated the people profoundly. On the first day of
August a meeting of the citizens was held, presided over

WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS

by Samuel Johnston, at which resolutions were adopted
urging the maintenance of order, the support of govern- gam
ment, the payment of the public debt and justice to the Johllston
soldiers. In particular was the necessity of continued union
urged, and an enlargement of the powers of the Union.

It was also resolved, “That we wish, as far as it is con¬
sistent with the Treaty of Peace, proper measures may be
taken to guard the evils that might arise from a return
of those persons who withdrew themselves from a defense
of the country and joined the British in time of our dis¬
tress” ; and the “gasconading encouragements they held
forth to induce a continuance of the war” were dwelt upon
in vigorous language. Especially it was recommended to
the magistrates to be vigilant against those persons who
might attempt to return in violation of the laws.

These resolves, appealing alike to prejudice and patriot¬
ism, doubtless were proposed as embodying the purpose of
those who favored them as of the first importance, strength¬
ening the Federal Union. But there were other subjects,
also, tending to division.

The western settlements

The region beyond the mountains had become of im¬
portance. Settlers guided by John Sevier had moved from
the Watauga to Nolichucky, and the Indians ceded all the
territory north of the French Broad to the whites, reserving
as their hunting grounds the region south of that river.

Farther in the interior of Kentucky had received many ac¬
cessions, and the call of the West appealed to bold, adven¬
turous spirits. In 1779 James Robertson penetrated far
into the wilderness and established a camp at a salt-lick
on the Cumberland, separated by impassable mountains
from the Watauga settlements. Once occupied by the
French traders as a station, it was commonly known as
“French Lick.” The following year others passed in boats

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

1783

Grants to
the soldiers

The

migration

down the Tennessee to the Ohio, and then ascended the
Cumberland to Robertson’s cabins. Although much har¬
assed by Indians they held their ground and so increased
in numbers that in 1783 the North Carolina Assembly in¬
corporated that region into a county, calling it Davidson,
and naming the central settlement Nashville. At the same
session the State made some provision for her soldiers
now returning to their homes, wearing the laurel leaf of vic¬
tory. There was set aside, as a bounty for the veterans of
the war, an extensive domain from the point where the
Cumberland River crossed the Virginia line, south fifty-five
miles, then westward to the Tennessee; and Martin Arm¬
strong was appointed the surveyor to locate their grants,
while a board of commissioners adjusted their accounts to
be paid by the Treasurer.

On the east of the Cumberland Mountains, in the valley
of Powell River, in extinguishment of their claims for
land purchased from the Indians, more than two hundred
thousands acres were allotted to Richard Henderson and
his associates, the Indians remaining in possession from
the French Broad to Chickamauga. And now the soldiers
crossed the mountains to take possession of their bounty
lands, and population flowed in with a rush to occupy
the fertile tracts along the Powell and the Clinch, while
others passed on to the distant Cumberland.

The Assembly meets — Martin’s great address

The Assembly elected in the spring of 1784 met at Hills¬
boro in April and, having much business of importance to
transact, the session was prolonged beyond any other since
the Revolution. 'It was remarkable for its ability, and its
work indicates breadth and patriotism,, a just conception
of the needs of the day and zeal in perfecting legislation.
Perhaps because of the great matters to be determined both
Willie Jones and Sam Johnston, neither of whom was often

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

29 •

in the Assembly, were members of the Senate. The over¬
shadowing questions were those relating to the Union, and
to the future prosperity of the State, and these were for¬
cibly dwelt on by Governor Martin in his address. The
cause of the Union he urged with power and without re¬
serve, insisting on “the great wisdom displayed in connect¬
ing the states under one common sovereignty in Congress.”
“I need not mention,” said he, “in conclusion, that you are
building for posterity. For centuries to come the infant
annals of our time will be traced with eagerness by inquisi¬
tive posterity for precedents, for maxims to which the future
government may still conform. Now is the important mo¬
ment to establish on your part the Continental Power on its
firmest basis, by which the people of these states rose and
are to be continued a nation.” But as anxious as he was to
maintain the Union, he was no less pronounced in advocating
progress in State affairs. A resident of the western part of
the State and familiar with the disadvantages under which
the inhabitants of the interior labored, he pressed on the
Legislature administrative policies intended to promote the
general welfare. The practice of issuing State bonds had not
then been introduced, and in a general way it may be said
there was no State credit. State aid could be given only
through taxation, and the people were not familiar with
the idea of taxing the whole for the advantage of a part.
Local efforts alone were available for the promotion of
enterprises. In presenting these subjects to the Assembly
the Governor remarked : “The trade and navigation of
this country is of lasting consequence, and requires your
immediate interposition and patronage. It is necessary our
rivers be rendered more navigable, our roads opened and
supported, by which the industrious planter may have his
produce carried to market with more ease and convenience.
Thereby more merchants of opulence would be induced to
settle in the State and open new resources of industry
among our inhabitants.” In particular, he again urged, “Let

1784

S. R., XIX,
498ff

Transpor¬

tation

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

1784

Education

Progress

S. R., XXIY,
572ff

State

measures

me call your attention to the education of our youth. May
seminaries be revived and encouraged, where the under¬
standing may be enlightened, the heart mended and genius
cherished : whence the State may draw forth men of ability
to direct her councils and support her government. Religion
and virtue claim your particular care. To preserve the
morals of the people is to preserve the State.” Such senti¬
ments met with the approval of the members, and Martin
was again chosen Governor.

Caswell, Jones and Johnston, all sustained the Governor
in his measures : and at the end of the session, gratified at
his success, he wrote with enthusiasm to the delegates in
Congress : “You have here seven acts passed this session.
They contain almost all the substances of every principal
recommendation relative to finance. The request of Con¬
gress as to the western lands, their favorite object, is com¬
plied with. The Assembly came to no resolution as to the
refugees. Debate ran high. Several bills fell through re¬
specting them, and confiscated property remains unsold
which were laid over to the next session.”

At that epochal period, when every community in America
was entering on new conditions, there was adopted a great
mass of legislation conforming our institutions to the new
life of a broader citizenship; and it is to be noted that at
this time acts were passed abolishing entails, admitting the
half-blood to inheritances, allowing parents to inherit from
their children, allowing widows to dissent from the wills
of their husbands, providing easier means of subjecting real
estate to the payment of debts, making courts of equity
more efficient and extirpating many vestiges of the feudal
times.

By an act altering the meeting of the Assembly to October
and the election to August, it was provided that at the next
session a new Governor should be chosen who should qual¬
ify in June, 1785, at the expiration of Governor Martin’s
term: and the practice of having district treasurers was dis-

THREE-FIFTHS RULE

continued and Memican Hunt was elected Treasurer of the
whole State.

As the five per cent duty granted in 1781 to the Confed¬
eracy for an unlimited period had not become effective, now
on the recommendation of Congress another act was passed
granting the duty for the limited term of twenty-five years,
but with the same condition — that the other states should
agree to it. Under this act the collectors were to be ap¬
pointed by the states, but were to be removable by Congress.
Until the act should become operative, by the other states
adopting it, North Carolina imposed a two per cent duty
for herself. Further, for a period of twenty-five years, the
Assembly granted to Congress a tax of six pence on every
acre of land in the State.

The three-fifths rule

During the war the public burdens had been apportioned
among the states on the basis of property. In 1783 the
Southern members, after a long struggle, succeeded in
changing the basis from property to population. In the
enumeration of the people for this purpose, all free inhabi¬
tants, of every age, sex and condition, were to be counted,
and “three-fifths of all other persons not computed in the
above description/’ Such was the origin of the practice of
computing five slaves as the equal of three freemen, for
purposes of taxation; and afterwards for representation.
It is, however, observable that the word slave was not used
in this enactment, nor in the Federal Constitution that per¬
petuated it. This proposition, vigorously pressed by the
Southern delegates, as mentioned by Dr. Williamson, was
adopted in Congress in 1783 and agreed to by North Caro¬
lina in the spring 1784, and, becoming operative, was con¬
tinued in the Constitution of 1787, being known as the
“three-fifths” rule.

Although hampered for the want of means, the Assembly,
animated by a spirit of progress, was not unmindful of

Grants to
Congress of
duties
and taxes

S. R., XXIV,
557

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

1784

River

navigation

S. R., XXIV,
634

Ibid., 606

Liberty Hall
and Science
Hall

Acts 1784,
Ch. 21

Fayetteville

The

Granville

and

McCulloh

tracts

the commercial and educational interest of the common¬
wealth. The inspection laws, pilotage regulations, and road
laws were revised and perfected ; and steps were taken to
make navigable the Roanoke and the Dan, also the Cape
Fear, the Neuse, the Tar, the Trent and the Fishing Creek;
and indeed the county courts were authorized to make nav¬
igable at county expense any stream in their respective
counties, while private enterprise undertook to cut the Club¬
foot and Ffarlow canal. In the interest of commerce a
special court was established to be held at the four seaport
towns, to try cases arising among foreigners or seamen,
or involving subjects of a mercantile nature. Provision was
made for taking a census of the inhabitants and a tax was to
retire old currency. Trustees were appointed for Innes
Academy; and for two public schools in Onslow, for two
academies in Morganton district ; and, the trustees of Liberty
Hall at Charlotte having represented that institution had
fallen into decay and having petitioned for its removal to
Salisbury, trustees were appointed for Liberty Hall to be
established at Salisbury, and, amending the charter of
Science Hall at Hillsboro, the Assembly converted the old
St. Matthews church into a free church and an academy. •
And in a spirit of tolerance, a special act was passed allow¬
ing the Quakers to wear their hats in the courts : and the oath
of allegiance was likewise modified, for all persons admitted
as citizens were required to take the oath of allegiance and
fidelity to the State.

In grateful recognition of Lafayette’s services the name
of the town of Campbellton had been changed to Fayette¬
ville and its importance had been extended by making it
the seat of a District Court : and now Moore County was
laid off.

As the State now claimed the Granville territory, direc¬
tions were given that all the papers connected with Gran¬
ville’s land officers should be collected and preserved.
Henry McCulloh had succeeded to his father’s rights in

HOSTILITY TO TORIES

the lands granted him for settlement in 1736; but he being
a Loyalist, his estates, like Granville’s, were held forfeited,
and his petition for their restoration, although warmly
pressed by many influential friends, was denied.

Indeed the implacable animosity of the fiercer Whigs
against the Tories was constantly manifest. Agreeably to
the express desire of the Continental Congress, the Grand
Committee of the Assembly brought forward bills to repeal
such laws as were inconsistent with the Treaty of Peace,
and to restore to the Tories such confiscated property as
had not been already sold. Johnston, Hooper, Willie
Jones, Maclaine, Hawkins, General Butler, General Person
and others, either from the softening influences of friendly
ties, or to give effect in good faith to the Treaty of Peace,
advocated these measures, but without avail. Abner Nash,
General Rutherford and their associates carried the day.
George Hooper, brother of William Hooper and son-in-law
of Maclaine, was a Loyalist, and he and Henry Eustace
McCulloh had many friends; but they were powerless. On
May day, when hope and cheerfulness are commonly in the
ascendant, Hooper wrote : “My hopes are at an end. This
day has put the matter beyond controversy; and there is
not a phrenzy of misguided political zeal, avarice cloaked in
the cover of patriotism, or private passion and prejudice,
under the pretense of revenging the wrongs of the country,
let these be carried to what excess they will — that can give
us the least surprise. In the Commons in spite of every¬
thing I could do, the bill was rejected, some 20 of 80 for it.
It fared worse in the Senate. Mr. Johnston spoke for it;
Willie Jones stept forward in a very becoming manner: —
their labor was lost. Griffith Rutherford called the objects
of the recommendatory clause, ‘Imps of Hell’ ; the vote
was called, and there were not ten in favor of it.” Later
he wrote : “The political phrenzy was high ; beyond any¬
thing I had foreseen.” The popular heart was indeed
strongly set against the Tories.

The Tories

MARTIN'S ADMINISTRATION

1784

The

provisos

Western territory ceded

Another measure also led to divergences. Congress in
sore straits had urged the states to cede their unsettled
western territories for the benefit of the Union. North
Carolina had such territory, and some of the people desired
the cession to be made.

The North Carolina Legislature, adopting the suggestion,
offered to cede her entire territory beyond the mountains,
although it was thought to contain one-tenth of her popula¬
tion. The proceeds of the unoccupied land thus ceded
were to be for the payment of the creditors of the Lmited
States. This measure was deemed by some as unjust, weak¬
ening the security of the creditors of the State and depriv¬
ing the inhabitants of a chief asset for the payment of their
public indebtedness. William R. Davie made vigorous op¬
position, and under his leadership General Person and
thirty-six other members filed a strong protest against it.
In particular it met with the disfavor of the representatives
of the interior counties, and even some of those from be¬
yond the mountains strenuously objected. But the purpose
to contribute to the common fund of the Union was strong,
and, besides, there were both political and economical rea¬
sons for the cession. The inhabitants of the territory were
entirely segregated, and the administration of public affairs,
rendered difficult as well as expensive by the remoteness of
the region cut off by impassable mountains, had been so
unsatisfactory that many of the people were discontented
and desired separation. And so, despite much earnest op¬
position, the bill was hastily passed without the subject hav¬
ing been discussed at all among the people of the State.
There were, however, several conditions attached to the
donation. It was to be accepted by Congress within twelve
months. As a provision for orderly government, the
territory was to have the North Carolina Constitution until
the inhabitants themselves should change it ; and there was

ACT OF CESSION

to be no regulation made by Congress tending to the emanci¬
pation of slaves other than should be directed by the new
State itself. This last provision was inserted .because
Congress had already manifested a disposition to legislate
against slavery. When an ordinance was being framed for
the government of the Northwest Territory, a provision pro¬
hibiting slavery in that region failed only by the vote of
Richard Dobbs Spaight, one of the North Carolina dele¬
gates. Three years later, in 1787, when a second ordinance
was passed, Jefferson was successful and slavery was forever
prohibited in that extensive region.

There was a further provision in the Act of Cession that
until Congress should accept the gift the sovereignty and
jurisdiction of North Carolina, in and over the territory
and the inhabitants thereof, should remain in all respects
as if the act had not been passed. So with respect to
government in the territory, the existing government was
not disturbed; nor was it to be disturbed until Congress
should accept the gift; and then it was provided that the
Constitution under which the people had lived should con¬
tinue to be their fundamental law until changed by them¬
selves. Subject to the conditions mentioned, North
Carolina, in June, 1784, made the tender of one-half of her
territory already somewhat settled, and with population
pouring into it, for the benefit of the Union. Truly it
bespoke of high patriotism. No other state had been so
liberal in sustaining the common government. If during
the war North Carolina’s contributions for the cause had
been unsurpassed, now in time of peace she again set an
example for her sisters to follow.

At the west

Some unexpected events, however, quickly followed the
passage of the act. When the measure was being consid¬
ered some of the representatives from the counties embraced
favored its passage, while others stoutly opposed it. The

1784

S. R., XXIV,
563

1784

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

1784

The

Franklin

Convention

Ramsay:

Tennessee,

797

sentiment of the leaders was divided, but the people for
the most part hailed it with satisfaction. For some time
courts had not been regularly held beyond the mountains,
and the laws were not fully enforced. Settlers were daily
encroaching on the lands of the Indians, who had become
irritated because of prolonged delay in delivering to them
goods, agreeable to a treaty stipulation, in compensation for
territory already relinquished. These circumstances aroused
a spirit of hostility and several of the encroaching settlers
were murdered. A feeling of unrest, perhaps of insecurity,
began to pervade the settlement. And, so, when the news
was received of the Act of Cession, among the greater num¬
ber of people it fell on willing ears. It was urged that the
State had neither sufficiently enforced law nor given ade¬
quate protection ; and soon the people numbering some
thirty thousand, hardy and self-reliant, moved forward with
eagerness to assume the functions of self government.
Doubtless, also, the vista of public honors in a separate and
independent commonwealth was pleasant and alluring to
aspiring leaders and quickened them to action. There was
some objection; but the voices of those who doubted were
drowned in the general commotion. Although not author¬
ized under the act of the Legislature, a movement was made
to hold a popular convention. Without delay the counties
of Washington, Sullivan and Greene elected delegates, who
assembled at Jonesboro in August, 1784. It is the first step
that always costs. This irregular action, not anticipated nor
authorized by North Carolina, was the beginning of events
that led to grievous disappointments and deplorable anarchy.
The idea of independence had been urged with great zeal
and had taken strong hold on the public mind. The pro¬
ceedings of the Convention were opened by reading the Dec¬
laration of Independence ; the Act of Cession was approved ;
and initial steps were taken to establish a new government ;
and an association was adopted and signed to maintain
independence. John Sevier presided over the Convention

CASWELL CHOSEN GOVERNOR

and gave direction to affairs. One of the heroes of Kings
Mountain, he had long been the most important personage
in that region, and was esteemed for his capacity and
character no less than for his bravery and vigorous action.
Under his direction it was determined to call a second con¬
vention for the purpose of framing a constitution, and in
the interim it was resolved that the new State should es¬
tablish a government similar to that of North Carolina.

The North Carolina Assembly

In August the North Carolina election was held under
the new law, and in October the Assembly met at New
Bern. As Governor Martin’s term was to expire in the
spring, a successor was now to be chosen. Caswell and
Nash were the aspirants, the former becoming the victor by
twenty majority.

The people had not generally approved the Act of Ces¬
sion. Davie and his followers had been sustained at the
election, and the new Assembly was in sympathy with that
faction. Besides, a new cause of dissatisfaction was now
brought to the attention of the members.

Virginia and New York had in December, 1783, agreed to
convey to Congress the unsettled territory beyond the Ohio ;
but Massachusetts and Connecticut had set up a claim for a
part of that region for themselves ; and these and other
states were making demands on Congress for the repay¬
ment to them of bounties paid to their troops, and were
presenting claims for other military expenses incurred for
local purposes. These demands, so at variance with North
Carolina’s liberality, excited disgust and aroused indignation.
The Assembly directed the Governor to make up North
Carolina’s expenditures and to insist on payment ; and, it
appearing that other states had not passed acts levying taxes

Sevier

1784

Cession

repealed

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

3. R., XXIV,
661

S. R., XIX,
804

S. R., XXIV,
678

Ibid., 689

S. R., XVII,
109

March, 1785

for the Union similar to those passed by North Carolina,
the money collected under these acts was directed to be
turned into the State treasury ; and further, since Congress
had not yet accepted the gift of the western territory,
the Assembly repealed the Act of Cession, the vote in the
House being 3 7 to 22. So within six months after the
offer was made, it was withdrawn. Having determined to
retain the territory, the Assembly created a new judicial
district, called the District of Washington, covering the four
western counties, and appointed John Haywood to pre¬
side, and David Campbell an associate judge; and John
Sevier was appointed Brigadier General of the district.

Tlie State of Franklin

Sevier had been the central figure in the movement to
establish a new state, but, on learning of this action of the
North Carolina Assembly, he was satisfied with it and urged
that no further steps ought to be taken looking to separa¬
tion. A majority of the inhabitants, however, determined
to persist, and Sevier’s advice was disregarded. Neverthe¬
less he exerted his influence to such good purpose as to
prevent the election of delegates to the approaching con¬
vention in two of the counties. Elsewhere his opposition
was ineffectual, and, finding the popular current for separa¬
tion too strong to be stemmed, he at length yielded to it
and became a member of the new convention and presided
over it. That body framed a constitution similar to that
of North Carolina, which was submitted to the people for
their consideration, to be rejected or ratified by a conven¬
tion to assemble thereafter; and it ordered an election for
members of Assembly. The Assembly so elected con¬
vened in March, 1785. At its first session it elected Sevier
Governor of the State for a term of three years, and David
Campbell presiding judge of its courts ; and also appointed
State and county officers. The old county officers who had
been commissioned by North Carolina were for the most

STATE OF FRANKLIN

part retained in their respective offices. The county of
Greene was divided, and two new counties erected, one
named Sevier, and the other in compliment of Governor
Caswell; while an academy was incorporated, called in hon¬
or of Governor Martin, as the State itself had been called
Franklin in compliment of Dr. Franklin, then of great in¬
fluence in the Continental Congress. The salaries* of the
officers were fixed at moderate amounts ; and, there being
a scarcity of currency, it was enacted that the produce of
the country should be received at certain fixed values in pay¬
ment of all taxes, public debts and salaries. This was
entirely similar to the early practice of Albemarle and
North Carolina; and the same custom had prevailed in some
other states and communities. Good flax linen was rated
at 3s. and 6d. per yard, linsey at 3d., beaver and otter skins
at 6d., raccoon and fox skins is. 3d., woolen cloth at 10s.,
bacon 6d. per pound, good distilled rye whiskey, 2s. 6d. a
gallon, peach or apple brandy at 3s. a gallon, country made
sugar at is. per pound; deer skins 6s., good tobacco 15s.*
the hundred.

O11 learning that the people were taking steps to form a
separate state, Governor Martin, in 1785, dispatched a spe¬
cial messenger to General Sevier, notifying him of the
repeal of the Act of Cession and warning him and the peo¬
ple to desist from their revolutionary proceedings and be
obedient to the laws of North Carolina. But the admoni¬
tion was disregarded. The Legislature of Franklin was
then in session and made a formal reply, as also did Gover¬
nor Sevier, declaring their purpose to proceed ; and Colonel
William Cocke was directed to hasten to Philadelphia and
solicit Congress to admit the State of Franklin into the
Confederacy. ■ North Carolina, they said, had cast them
off and they did not mean to return.

*The word “salary” had its origin in the practice of paying the old Roman
soldiers their stipends in salt.

Ramsay :
Tennessee,

297

Martin acts

April, 1785

S. R., XVII,
601, 625

S. R„ XXII,
640

MARTIN’S ADMINISTRATION

On receiving these replies Governor Martin convened
his Council, and on April 25, published a manifesto requir¬
ing the inhabitants beyond the mountains to abandon their
purpose to form a new state, and to return to their alle¬
giance. He declared that the people of North Carolina were
unwilling to part with them as indicated by the result of
the recent election for members of the Assembly ; that all
their grievances had been remedied ; that a military district
had been created for them, and a brigadier general ap¬
pointed; and also that a resident associate judge had been
appointed to hold their courts. But both his entreaties and
warnings were equally unheeded. Undismayed by the Gov¬
ernor’s proclamation, Sevier and his associates, although de¬
nounced as being in revolt, held fast to their new constitution
and reveled in the delights of independence. Evan Shelby,
now appointed Brigadier, in the place of Sevier, and John
Tipton, the Colonel of his county, and Col. James Martin,
s. r., xvii, the Indian agent, all men of great influence, exerted their
utmost power to arrest the progress of events, but with'
out avail. Finding that the western counties persisted in
their course and defied the authority of the State, Governor
Martin issued a call for the Assembly to meet in New Bern
on June 1.

In the meantime the people of Franklin were not inac¬
tive. They proceeded to administer the affairs of the new
State with resolution and determination. Colonel Cocke,
on reaching Philadelphia about the middle of May, met
with much favor at the hands of Congress, and that body,
with scant courtesy to the North Carolina delegates, mani¬
fested its sympathy in his mission by urging North Caro¬
lina to retrace her steps and annul the repealing act and
execute a conveyance of the western territory to the Union.

CASWELL'S SITUATION

Thus matters stood at the opening of June when Martin’s
term expired and Caswell entered on the administration.

Although the Legislature had been called to meet with the Jun6( 1785
new Governor, a quorum did not attend, and Caswell was
left to deal with the novel situation without its aid.

Doubtless the large majority of the inhabitants of Frank¬
lin had merely removed from Orange, Anson and Rowan
counties across the mountains, although others came in from
Virginia. The western part of North Carolina, from the
present Hillsboro to Lincolnton, had been settled by thou¬
sands of Germans and Irish, with a sprinkle of French and
Scotch, and some English west of the Yadkin, and Quakers
from Back Bay, Maine, Nantucket, Pennsylvania and
Maryland; and the Moravians. In 1756, an entry in the
Moravian Diary reads “Three wagons loaded with grain
came to the mill today: two were from New Garden, a
Quaker settlement, and the third was from the Jersey (Irish)
settlement.” Those emigrants had now for years been
North Carolinians, and when they went across the mountains
they were still citizens of the State, and Caswell did not wish
to deal with them harshly.

CHAPTER III

Caswell's Second Administration
1785-1787

Caswell’s policy of conciliation. — The Assembly makes laws
for the Western District. — Formalities of elections dispensed
with. — The interregnum. — Commerce and copyright. — The Grove
and other academies chartered. — The controversy between the
bar and the bench. — The Assembly disappoints the Tories. —
The court suspends an act of Assembly. — It banishes Brice and
McNeil. — The alleged frauds against the State. — The Annapolis
conference. — The Assembly meets at Fayetteville. — The arrest of
the state prisoners. — The conduct of the judges investigated. —
The judges thanked. — They hold the Act of Assembly unconsti¬
tutional. — Commissioners appointed to the Philadelphia Conven¬
tion. — Pardon offered to the inhabitants of Franklin. — Sumner
County erected. — Importation of slaves taxed. — The population of
the counties. — Delegates to the Continental Congress. — The trial
of the state prisoners. — Moore, Davie and Iredell. — The convic¬
tion and punishment of the prisoners.

1785

S. R., XVII,
446, 472

S. R.f XX, 5

Caswell, called now for the second time to the helm of
the State at a difficult period, acted with that prudence and
moderation which had ever characterized his public conduct.
In anticipation of his administration, on May 17, Sevier
wrote him a long representation, inveig'hing strongly against
Governor Martin, who had “lately sent up into our country
a manifesto, together with letters to private persons, in order
to stir up sedition and insurrection.” In reply, Caswell said
that matters must remain as they were until the Assembly
should meet; but he was not to be understood as giving
countenance to the measures taken by the people west of
the mountains. The situation in Franklin therefore re¬
mained undisturbed. The Legislature held its sessions and
made laws and the officers of the new State performed their
functions without interruption.

When the Assembly met in November Martin succeeded
to the position of Speaker of the Senate made vacant by

CONCILIATORY MEASURES

Caswell’s elevation to the executive office. His influence
was unabated. Representations were made to the Assembly
on behalf of the people of Franklin; but they were un¬
heeded. Harsh measures, however, were not taken. On
the contrary a policy of conciliation was pursued. While
asserting the sovereignty of the State over that part of
her territory, the Assembly refrained from the exertion of
force, doubtless expecting that sooner or later the people
would voluntarily return to their allegiance. Still it made
laws to be enforced in that particular part of the State.
Because of the tide of immigration setting to that remote
wilderness, in order to preserve the grain raised as food
for the inhabitants, the Assembly forbade the erection of
any distilleries beyond the mountains. Moreover, it ap¬
pointed inspectors of tobacco for that region, for the cul¬
ture of the weed had extended beyond Surry and Burke
to the confines of civilization. It also provided for the
erection of an academy at Nashville, granting 240 acres of
land for the purpose ; and it established a Superior Court
for Davidson County. Indeed, the people of that county were
so remote from the State of Franklin that they were not
at all involved in the movement on the Watauga and were
in entire accord with North Carolina. At the session of
1785 John Haywood was appointed judge to hold court
across the mountains, but the situation was so perilous that
in June he wrote to the Governor that if it was thought that
he should risk his life through hostile savages, he would at
the peril of his life undertake the service. He seems not
to have gone. The next year John Brown was elected
judge.

Of the inhabitants in Franklin there were some who ad¬
hered to North Carolina, but the authority of the State was
so generally rejected that in order to afford an opportunity
for the loyal people to be represented in the General Assem¬
bly, it was deemed necessary to pass a special act dispensing
with the customary formalities of holding the polls ; and

Conciliatory

measures

Special
election law

CASWELL’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION

1786

S. R., XXIV,
747

Life of
Iredell, 142

there were some elections held under this act. However,
all measures to induce the people to abandon the new gov¬
ernment were without avail, and North Carolina’s authority
being no longer recognized, a period of three years, sub¬
sequent to 1784, was afterwards known as the interregnum.

The North Carolina Assembly

The Assembly was progressive. Acts were passed regu¬
lating commerce and insuring the merchantable character of
products intended for export; for enlarging the jurisdiction
of the county courts, and securing to an author a copyright
of any book, map or chart he should prepare and publish, to
last for a period of fourteen years. The Dobbs Academy
was incorporated for Kinston, and one called The Grove,
afterwards attaining much celebrity, in Duplin, and Eden-
ton was authorized to donate six acres of the town common
to the Smith Academy. The schools already established
were apparently efficient and effective. Of that at Hills¬
boro, originally chartered as Science Hall, Hooper wrote :
“We had an annual commencement or examination. The
boys exceeded our most earnest expectations. They were
examined in Latin, English, natural philosophy, geography,
geometry and Euclid ; some spoke a little in Latin and
English.”

The administration of the courts had not given satisfac¬
tion. The judges had fallen into a habit of having long
discussions, without deciding cases, and the dockets were
crowded. In July, 1785, Hooper wrote to Iredell : “Our
court at Wilmington went on in the old dilatory mode of
doing business. Great threats of dispatch, accomplished
in the usual way. Much conversation from Germanicus
(Spencer) on the bench; his vanity has become insufferable,
and is accompanied by the most overbearing insolence.
Maclaine and he had a terrible fracas. The courts must be
altered. Against the present system the cries of the people
are loud ; they must be heard. But what affects me most,

TORIES LOSE HOPE

the censure is pointed at the bar, when the occasion is
seated much higher.” At the following session of the As¬
sembly John Hay introduced a bill to establish a court of
appeals. Powerfully urged by the bar, it passed the House,
but failed in the Senate. The prime purpose was to re¬
move the judges, and the failure of the measure was the
defeat of the lawyers. Their efforts to establish a new
system had come to grief. They also met with a severe
reverse in their purpose in respect to the Tories. The new
Assembly reelected Caswell and was surrounded by the
same influence as the previous one. The Loyalists had not
grown in favor, and the sentiment of the country found
expression in new legislation adverse to their interests.
Once more it was enacted that no one who had ever given
aid or countenance to the British should hold any office in
the State ; and because some of the returned Tories were
seeking to regain possession of their property under the
provision of the Treaty of Peace, the Assembly, to put an
end to such proceedings, ratified all sales made by the
commissioners of confiscated property and declared that
the sales passed title to the purchasers, and that the pur¬
chasers should not be liable to answer any suit instituted
to recover the property; and the more certainly to effect the
purpose, it directed the courts to dismiss any such suits
that might be brought.

The last ray of hope that buoyed the expectant Loyalists
seemed to be extinguished ; and, moreover, this sweeping
legislation aroused the indignation of the lawyers who were
interested in this class of profitable litigation, and, also of
those conservative public men who desired to see the Treaty
carried into effect and its obligations honorably observed.
Iredell hotly declared : “No consideration shall induce me,
directly or indirectly, to support, countenance or have act or
part in carrying so infamous a law into execution.” Mac¬
laine was full of ire: “The Assembly and the judges have
indeed found an easy way to avoid the Treaty. The for-

1786

S. R., XXIV,
730

Life of
Iredell, 133

CASWELL’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION

1786

Life of
Iredell, 137

S. R.,

XVIII, 138
1786

Ibid., 139

mer refuse to point out any method to ascertain what is
confiscated; and the judges refuse to let any person, whose
property may be taken by a rapacious commissioner, main¬
tain a suit, so that we seem to be at the mercy of a set of
needy adventurers, whose interest it is to pillage us.” This
adverse criticism of the commissioners was not, however,
founded in rancorous partisanship, for they were men
who had served with honorable distinction in the field dur¬
ing the war, making every sacrifice that patriotism had de¬
manded, and had given to the world sufficient evidence that
they were not actuated by a spirit of rapacity. However, a
constitutional question was involved in the new legislation
that at first escaped the attention of the lawyers : had the
Legislature, under the Constitution, power to direct the
judicial department of the government to dismiss actions
regularly instituted? In England the power of Parliament
was supreme, so supreme that some one had wittily re¬
marked that its only limitation was that it could not make
a woman to be a man. In the new state governments writ¬
ten constitutions had replaced the unwritten constitution of
Great Britain; and these instruments were the charts of
government. The judicial department was separate and
distinct from the legislative, and independent of it. At
the first court held after the passage of this act, in May,
1786, at New Bern, a motion was made to dismiss such a
suit, agreeably to the act. The judges did not assent. They
took an advisari and recommended to the parties to settle
their differences out of court. At once the subject came
under public discussion. The judges were severely ar¬
raigned, even by some of the bar, whose hostility was
deep seated.

During the December term, 1785, at Wilmington, two
Tories, Francis Brice and Dr. Daniel McNeil, of Bladen,
who had fled the State under charge of treason, because of
acts committed during the war, returned and “paraded the

BENCH AND BAR CLASH

streets with an insolent bearing.” Out of respect for the
court, then in session, the inhabitants forbore the personal
chastisement which such conduct invited. The presence
and bearing of these men, and the repressed indignation of
the people, being brought to the attention of the court by
General Brown and Colonel Robeson, the court directed the
grand jury that, although there was no statute on the
subject, no sovereign state was without power to prevent
it from receiving injury; that the return of these men
was in itself a misdemeanor, and that the court would de¬
termine whether the act was criminal; that if it appeared
to them that the allegations were true, they could find a
true bill. Indictments were found ; the parties were tried
and convicted, and the court imposed a small fine on both,
and directed that they should enter into bond to depart the
State within sixty days. The banishment of these Tories
greatly inflamed the lawyers who were caring for the in¬
terests of the Loyalists.

Constant were the collisions between the bench and some
of the bar, whose bearing towards the court greatly ex¬
asperated the judges. In the course of one of these incidents,
Judge Ashe, on the bench, told John Hay that his insolence
to Judge Sitgreaves, in the court of admiralty, deserved to
be answered with a cane. Hay was, in particular, a leading
agitator, publishing articles with a view of bringing the
judges into disrepute and covering them with ridicule.

Robbery of the State

As great as was the commotion that attended these pro¬
ceedings, there was another subject that agitated the State
even still more. Early in 1785 a board composed of Ben¬
jamin McCulloh, John Macon and Henry Montfort, men of
high social standing and strong connections, was appointed
to liquidate army accounts. Certificates were to be given
by officers to those who had rendered service, which, when

1785

S. R., XVII,
234

Life of
Iredell, 89,
143

CASWELL’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION

approved by this board, would be paid by the State Treas¬
urer. It came to be rumored that in many instances, cer¬
tificates were given in blank ; that in some cases no services
whatever had been performed, and, in others, forgery had
been resorted to. It was alleged that the officers shared
in the spoils; and it was thought that some of the board
were involved in the conspiracy to defraud the State. Soon
the entire State resounded with clamor, raised by rumors,
trumpeted by a thousand tongues, of widespread fraud
and conspiracy to pillage the treasury. Governor Caswell,
after consulting with the Council, directed the treasurer to
pay no more claims until the Assembly should meet. Hunt,
however, did not obey ; and the clamor grew in volume and
the public indignation was Unbounded.

Commerce claims attention

Another subject of general concern also engaged public
attention. The powers of the Confederacy were found by
experience to be inadequate to accomplish the purposes of
the Union and the regulation of commerce by the individual
1786 states led to controversies. The necessity of a change was

fully realized. In February, 1786, Virginia, pressed by ques¬
tions arising from commerce on the Chesapeake by four
different states, moved the waters by adopting resolutions
inviting the states to appoint deputies to attend at Annap¬
olis in September and consider amendments to the Articles
of Confederation relating to commerce. On receiving this
invitation, Governor Caswell, in July, 1786, called his Coun¬
cil together and appointed Abner Nash, Alfred Moore,
Hugh Williamson, John Gray Blount and Philemon Haw-
s R kins to represent North Carolina in the Conference. Wil-

xviii, 681 liamson alone attended ; and on arriving he found that
some of the commissioners from other states had met and,
without waiting, had joined in a recommendation that there
should be a convention of all the states to consider other

ASSEMBLY AT FAYETTEVILLE

subjects besides that of commerce; and, having agreed on
that course, the Conference had adjourned. Affairs relating
to the Union were thus also in the public mind.

The Assembly convenes

The Assembly was to meet at Fayetteville, and there was
great bustle preparing for the event. Already that town
was spoken of as the capital. It was at the head of water
transportation, and was the chief mart of the interior of
the State. From there highways branched out in all direc¬
tions, and its importance was year by year becoming more
considerable. Hopes of future splendor augmented the zeal
of the patriotic and hospitable citizens in providing suitable
accommodations for the crowd of notables who were to be
their guests during that eventful season. The time was
big with . events, and the public mind in a state of prodigious
excitement on subjects appealing to the prejudices of men
and swaying the passions rather than their reason. Men of
high position, even the State Treasurer, were accused of
looting the treasury; there was a clamor against the judges,
demanding their impeachment; the western counties were
in flagrant revolt, and, further, were in peril of an Indian
war; the Treaty had not yet been given effect; the union
of the states was in jeopardy, being held but by a rope of
sand, and there was a pressing demand for an enlargement
of the powers of the Continental Congress. Such were the
larger matters that were engaging public attention when the
Assembly met on November 18, 1786, the most exciting by
far being the alleged conspiracy to defraud the State.

Caswell, eminently a practical man, now gave evidence
of his efficiency; while James Coor and John B. Ashe, both
solid and capable, were, as speakers of the two houses,
measurably directors of events. On the floors were Davie,
Hooper, Rutherford, Maclaine, Spaight, Cabarrus, Blount,
Battle, Stokes and others of large experience and approved

Nov. 1786

The

excitement

CASWELL’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION

1786
S. R.,

XVIII, 233

Ibid., 251

Ibid., 303

wisdom; and Alfred Moore, the learned and admirable At¬
torney-General, was directed to attend that the Assembly
might have the benefit of his advice.

The prisoners of state

The Governor hastened to detail the circumstances con¬
nected with the fraudulent accounts, and added that “ Il¬
liberal suggestions had been thrown out against several of
your principal officers.” The subject was at once taken up
and pressed with vigor. An order was passed directing
the Governor to arrest twenty-three persons whose names
were specified, while twenty-eight others were named as
witnesses. The accused were to be held in confinement, as
‘'prisoners of state.” Caswell lost no time in obeying
His measures were so prompt and efficient that the Assem¬
bly, in token of its enthusiastic approbation, declared by
resolution that it entertained “the highest sense of the up¬
right, spirited and vigorous exertions of His Excellency.”
A grand committee was raised to make an inquisition and
to examine the prisoners. On December 9 the houses met
in joint session, with Elisha Battle in the chair, to hear the
report. The report was signed by the full committee, among
others, General Rutherford, General Gregory and Col. Wil¬
liam Polk. It was full, explicit, and had the clear ring of
investigation. Henry Montfort, a member of the House,
was implicated, and was g'iven a day to exonerate himself ;
but his explanations were so unsatisfactory that he was ig-
nominiously expelled. The Treasurer, Memican Hunt,
was also required to appear before the houses, and was
heard in his defense. His term was about to expire; and
John Haywood was elected in his place.

For the trial of the parties implicated, still held as
“state prisoners,” a bill was passed ordering a special term
of court to he held at Warrenton on the last Monday in
January.

JUDGES ON TRIAL

The judges impeached

While these proceedings were being taken against the
conspirators to pillage the treasury, John Hay, hoping to
remove the judges from the bench, took advantage of the
commotion and introduced , resolutions of impeachment
against them. The House notified the judges in order that
they might attend. Williams and Spencer hastened to
Fayetteville, but Ashe, saying that he had “clean hands and
a pure heart” and would disregard the clamor, remained at
home. He, however, addressed a letter to the House ex¬
plaining the various matters alleged against the court as
far as he was informed of the charges. He detailed the cir¬
cumstances of the case of Brice and McNeil and continued :
“This is the foundation of that charge against the judges,
and I suppose the charge is considered a mighty achieve¬
ment, a matter of great exultation and triumph, that the
champion dare stand forth and in the face of the Legislature
accuse the judicial power of the State for presuming to
molest those respectable personages.” One of the charges
was that the court had suspended an act of the Assembly,
inasmuch as it had not dismissed the case at New Bern.
With reference to that he observed : “If my opinion of our
Constitution is an error, I feel it is an incurable one, for I
had the honor to assist in the forming it, and confess I so
designed it, and I believe every other gentleman concerned
did also.” The delay in the trial of cases he laid largely
at the door of the lawyers.

The several matters alleged against the court were re¬
ferred to a committee of lawyers “to investigate the admin¬
istration of justice”; and their report being ready, at the
request of the two judges in attendance, on January 1
the houses met in conference. The two speakers in their
gowns took the chairs, and a committee was sent to escort
the judges to the chamber. Maclaine, the chairman of the
committee, read its report as to the facts. The houses then

1786

Life of
Iredell, 155

S. R.,

XVIII, 189

Ashe’s letter

Ibid.

CASWELL’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION

Jan. 1787

S. R.,

XVIII, 421,
425, 428

Ibid., 218

Ibid., 477

The judges
thanked

S. R.,

XVIII, 399

Life of
Iredell, 133

resolved themselves into a committee of the whole, the
Speaker surrendering the chair to Richard Dobbs Spaight,
and the judges were heard in explanation. All matters
against the court were in committee of the whole resolved
in favor of the judges. The next day the report of the com¬
mittee of the whole was made to the House of Commons,
and was approved by a vote of 49 to 22. It was then sent
to the Senate and was concurred in by the Senate. Four
days later a resolution was introduced in the Senate thank¬
ing the judges for their good conduct. The lawyers pro¬
tested. They urged particularly that there should be added
to the resolution a paragraph declaring that “banishment
is a punishment unknown to the laws of the State”; but
their vigorous protests only served to strengthen the pur¬
pose of the majority. The resolutions, as adopted, thanked
“the judges for their good conduct during the whole period
of their service on the bench, and particularly in the matters
for which they were charged in the present Assembly.”
The resentment against the Tories was still hot; and it was
a sustaining power for the court, although the temper of
the House was so far modified that in that body a bill was
passed declaring the Treaty the law of the land. While
the lawyers could not approve of the court’s action, they
did not sympathize wholly with Hay. At the close of the
session Hooper wrote: “This ridiculous pursuit of Hay’s
ended as we expected. It was conceived in spleen, and
conducted in such headstrong passion, that after the charges
were made evidence was wanting to support them.” But
the controversy between the bar and the bench did not
subside. Judge Ashe’s references to the delinquencies of
the bar led to a grave reply in the newspapers by Iredell,
Johnston, Davie, Hooper and others. To this he made
answer stoutly maintaining his former criticism, and saying
that if the lawyers thought proper to withdraw their friend¬
ship “I should have no objection, for that I was independ¬
ent in principle, in person and in purse, and should neither

JUDICIAL INNOVATION

court their love nor fear their enmity.” For years the hos¬
tility continued, the lawyers strenuously endeavoring to
write the judges off the bench.

The court holds an act of Assembly void

Soon after this trial, at the May term of the court, the
motion to dismiss the case at New Bern, Bayard v. Single-
ton , was decided by the judges, and denied, Judge Ashe
saying: “As God said to the waters, so far and no fur¬
ther ; so said the people to the Legislature by the adoption of
the Constitution.” It was thus determined by the court
that the judicial power was independent of the legislative
power. In the interval between the terms, the court in
Rhode Island had made a similar declaration ; but the re¬
fusal of the judges at May term, .1786, to obey the Act
of Assembly was the first announcement of the principle
involved by any court in any of the states. The action
was widely discussed, but eventually was accepted by the
people as the correct interpretation of the Constitution.

Animated by patriotic sentiments the Assembly approved
the course of Governor Caswell in appointing representatives
to the Annapolis Conference. The necessity of enlarging
the powers of Congress was recognized, and in an act re¬
citing that “this State has ever been desirous to act upon
the enlarged system of the general good of the United
States, without bounding its views to the narrow and selfish
object of partial convenience,” the Assembly appointed five
commissioners to attend the convention at Philadelphia
and “to decide on the most effectual means to remove the
defects of the Federal system, reporting such an act to the
General Assembly as will effectually remedy the defects.”
To discharge this important duty, Governor Caswell, Alex¬
ander Martin, Davie, Spaight and Willie Jones were chosen ;
and, should any vacancies occur, the Governor was author¬
ized to fill them. Of these, Martin, Davie and Spaight were

Life of
Iredell, 601

1787

Moore v.
Bradley,
2 Hay.
Reports

Tlie Phila¬
delphia
Convention

S. R., XXIV,
791

CASWELL’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION

1786

S. R.,
XVIII, 86

S. R., XXIV,
820

Ibid., 783

Ibid., 802

favorable to some changes in the Articles of Confederation,
as also was Caswell. Willie Jones may not have been.

Franklin still held

Representations were made in behalf of the State of
Franklin and were patiently heard. But the Assembly was
not of a mind to allow the western counties to separate
themselves under the existing conditions. On December
14, 1786, Elisha Battle, always moderate but firm, as chair¬
man of a select committee, made a report to the Senate deny¬
ing immediate separation, but promising it when the wealth
and number of the inhabitants should justify it. In the mean¬
time no taxes were to be collected for the period of the inter¬
regnum since 1784; and oblivion and pardon were offered,
embracing all persons, and every kind of offense against the
government ; and the civil and military officers in office in
1784 were continued and confirmed in their respective offices.
To give further relief from some inconveniences, Sullivan
was divided and the county of Hawkins was created.

Farther to the west, on Cumberland River, Davidson
County was likewise divided and Sumner County erected ;
and, the Indians being hostile, a military force of three com¬
panies was ordered to be raised for the protection of the in¬
habitants of that region ; but as a preliminary the command¬
ing officer was to open a good road from Clinch Mountain
on the Watauga to Nashville, for as yet no wheeled vehicle
had passed into the wilderness, all provisions being trans¬
ported on pack horses.

Slaves not to be imported from certain states

Some notable changes were inaugurated in State polity.
It was ordered that land should be taxed by the hundred
acres, instead of at its value; the jurisdiction of magis¬
trates was enlarged ; and the Assembly, resolving that the
importation of slaves “is productive of evil consequences

CENSUS

and highly impolitic,” laid a tax on their importation, and
directed that all slaves brought into the State from any
state that had passed an act to liberate slaves were to be
returned to such state under heavy penalty. At that period
there was some importation of slaves from foreign parts,
but the number was very limited.

At the previous session a census of the population had
been ordered, and the report was now laid before the As¬
sembly. The enumeration had been imperfectly made, but
it indicated a population in eighteen counties of 105,213.
It showed a more considerable population in the counties
bordering on Virginia than elsewhere, the results being
similar to the subsequent census of 1790.

Delegates in Congress

The Continental Congress was then holding its sessions
at New York; but the North Carolina delegates were not
in attendance, and for months the State was not repre¬
sented. The delegates elected for the year 1786 were Nash,
Blount, Burton, Charles Johnson, Timothy Bloodworth and
Nathaniel Macon. Macon, however, resigned without at¬
tending the Congress at all. The expense was so burden¬
some that the position, while one of honor, was undesirable,
and Macon declined because the provision for his support
was inadequate. Bloodworth tried to sustain himself by a
shipment of tar to New York, but losing money by the
venture, also resigned. Nash died at his post, and Charles
Johnson resigned. Cummings and White, Benjamin Haw¬
kins and John B. Ashe were chosen to fill the vacancies.
They sought to so arrange it that one or more should be
in attendance until relieved, for none could long stand the
expense. On January 7, 1787, the Assembly brought to a
close this session which, in many respects, was marked by
more excitement than any other of that period.

1786

S. R., XXIV,
794

The census

S. R., XX,
605

1787

Murphey’s

Address,

1827

CASWELLS SECOND ADMINISTRATION

The state trial

Two weeks after the Assembly rose the court met at
Warrenton to try the “state prisoners/’ chief among whom
were McCulloh and Montford, while the many persons im¬
plicated touched society in almost every part of the State.
The profound interest of the public, the gravity of the
accusations, and the anxiety of the friends of the accused,
invested the trial with an importance never before equaled
in North Carolina. Alfred Moore, the Attorney-General,
prosecuted ; Iredell and Davie defended ; and the surrounding
circumstances stimulated the counsel to the most brilliant
display of forensic eloquence. Describing two of these
rivals for fame, Murphey has said : “Moore was a small
man, neat in his dress and graceful in his manners ; his
voice was clear and sonorous ; his perceptions quick ; his
judgment almost intuitive; his style was chaste and his
manner of speaking animated — He spoke with ease and
with force, enlivened his discourses with flashes of wit, and,
when the subject required it, with all the bitterness of
sarcasm. . . . Davie was a tall, elegant man in his person,
graceful and commanding in his manners ; his voice was
mellow and adapted to every passion; his mind compre¬
hensive, yet slow in its operations when compared with
his great rival. His style was magnificent and flowing;
and he had a greatness of manner in public speaking which
suited his style and gave to his speeches an imposing
effect. While Davie ranked as one of the first orators
Moore was held one of the first advocates of America.”
All of these contestants were well trained in every art of
legal warfare. In the management of the defense Iredell,
superior to either Davie or Moore in many respects, per¬
formed his part with credit and renown. Every year of his
life he attained a higher eminence in his profession, and
at length, differing with his associates on the Supreme
Court bench, his views were engrafted into the Constitu-

STATE PRISONERS TRIED

tion of the United States, an enduring monument. Hun¬
dreds of persons were in attendance at the trial and all eyes
were fixed on the great drama being enacted at Warrenton.

For nearly a month the court was in session. Henry
Montford was acquitted, but Benjamin McCulloh, John
Sheppard, John McNeer, John Price, William Faircloth,

Thomas Butcher, James Holmes, McCarthy, Mann, Phil¬
lips and several others were convicted. A fine sufficed as
punishment for all but McCulloch and Sheppard. The
former in addition to a fine of 4,000 pounds, was sentenced
to be confined in Warrenton jail for twelve months; but
at the end of eleven months because of his ill health, he
was allowed his liberty.. It was, however, said that he was
a victim to the indignation and resentment of the people,
and that he was charged beyond his real offense. His
brother-in-law, John Stokes, wrote: “I wish I was igno- f
rant of it. I think of it by day ; it is represented to me iredeii, 157
in my dreams, which are wont to make it nothing but a
phantom. The blushing morn establishes the reality and
renews my grief.”

CHAPTER I\

The State of Franklin

Caswell’s policy with respect to the Franks. — Sevier and Shelby
make an agreement. — The Franklin Assembly repudiates the
action, and proposes to suppress all North Carolina authority. —
Caswell urges moderation. — Indian war on the frontier. — Major
Evans’s expedition to the Cumberland. The disintegration of
Franklin begins. — Representatives elected to North Carolina As¬
sembly. — The clashing in Washington County. — Sevier engages in
war with the Creeks. — The last Assembly of the fading State. —
Delegates chosen on behalf of Franklin. — The Assembly meets at
Tarborough. — The act of pardon extended. — The policy of concilia¬
tion bears fruit. — The seizure of Sevier’s negroes by local officers.
— He attempts their rescue. — Tipton defies him. — His embarrass¬
ment. — Maxwell’s militia arrives. — The collision. — The Franks re¬
tire. — Sevier to the frontier. — General Martin secures submission.
— Sevier invades Indian territory. — Governor Johnston suggests
arrest of Sevier. — Judge Spencer issues the warrant. He is ar¬
rested. — Is conveyed to Morganton. — Escapes. — The act of pardon
again extended, — Sevier declared ineligible to office, but other¬
wise pardoned. — The Convention at Greenville. — Sevier elected to
North Carolina Assembly August, 1789. — His disability removed. —
He takes his seat. — The end of Franklin.

Hardly had the spectacular trial of the state prisoners
closed at Warrenton before conditions at the west, becoming
more acute, claimed Governor Caswell’s anxious attention,
st r., xxii, Qashing between the two courts and the county officers
was inevitable. To avert trouble, in March General Evan
Shelby, acting in behalf of those adhering to North Carolina,
and Governor Sevier entered into an agreement that while
the respective courts might try criminal cases they should
not proceed to any civil business except to prove wills and
deeds, and that the inhabitants might pay their taxes either
to North Carolina or to the State of Franklin as they
might select: and further, that the sheriffs and jailers under
the Franklin government should receive felons committed
by North Carolina courts. This agreement, tolerating North
Carolina authority, was, however, immediately repudiated
by the Franklin Fegislature, then in session. That body,

SEVIER DEFIANT

rejecting every purpose of temporizing, acted with vigor ^

and vehemence. It passed an act punishing with fine and
imprisonment any person who should act as a magistrate,
or in any other civil capacity, under the authority of North
Carolina, and it directed the Governor to raise the militia
and oppose by force the operation of any North Carolina
law, authorizing a bounty of 400 acres of land to those
who would enlist; and, to draw the wavering to their side,
a land office was opened where grants were to be obtained
on very easy terms. Sevier’s attitude, which had been
moderate, now was completely changed. He wrote to Cas¬
well : “We shall continue to act independent and would
rather sufifer death, in all its various and frightful shapes,
than conform to anything that is disgraceful.” The pur- R xxn
pose to maintain independence was fixed and strong, while 680
those who adhered to North Carolina were equally reso¬
lute and determined. The division between the two parties
among the inhabitants was clearly drawn, and the circum¬
stances of every day intensified the estrangement. Toler¬
ation gave way to bitterness. In, May the situation was
so acute that General Shelby notified Caswell that hostili¬
ties were about to begin, and unless the government inter¬
fered, bloodshed would at once take place. It was no
part of Caswell’s policy to precipitate a situation where he
would have to subjugate the inhabitants, although in
revolt. He hastened to urge the officers holding North
Carolina commissions to use the utmost moderation. To
dampen their ardor and restrain their action, he declared ibid., 686
that he could not send them any assistance, and he begged
them not to engage in a civil war. His information was
conflicting. David Campbell assured him that nineteen-
twentieths of ithe inhabitants favored separation, while
Thomas Hutchins reported that, although the people of
Greene were much divided, in the other two counties two-
thirds were willing to return to their allegiance. In the
meantime the force, which the Assembly had directed to

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN

■Caswell’s

moderation

S. R., XX,
277

be raised to cut the road to Davidson, was being recruited ;
and Colonel James Martin, the Indian agent, went among
the Indians to prevail on them to desist from hostilities.
At length, towards the close of April, General Shelby
called together Tipton, Maxwell and Hutchins, the colonels
of the three counties, and they united in urging that the
only hope of averting bloodshed was for North Carolina
to send from Burke a thousand men to uphold her authority.
Intent on the supremacy of their faction and on the sup¬
pression of their opponents, they sought to strengthen their
cause by a display of force that would deter the Franks
from persisting in their defiance. But it must not be for¬
gotten that they held commissions from the State charging
them with the duty of upholding and maintaining her su¬
premacy. Caswell, however, relied on gentler means of
persuasion and hoped for the healing influence of time. In
the meanwhile, farther in the interior the savages were
murdering the settlers. The Mississippi was claimed by the
Spaniards, who, from their stronghold at Mobile, had free
communication with the tribes in the interior ; while the
Frenchmen on the upper Mississippi had trade relations
with the Indians, which bred a jealousy of the encroaching
pioneers. The savages were thus influenced to continue
warfare. In June, from the Cumberland came a cry for
immediate help. Anthony Bledsoe wrote: “Nothing but
the distress of a bleeding country could induce me to trouble
you on so disagreeable a subject — Enclosed you have a list
of the killed in this quarter since our departure from this
country to the Assembly. This, with the numbers wounded,
with the large numbers of horses stolen from the inhabi¬
tants, has in a degree, flagged the spirits of the people/’
And the next month, James Robertson advised Governor
Caswell that there had been a hot war with the Chickamauga
Indians; that he had raised 130 men and gone to the front,
where he found that the Indians had been joined by French-

Ibid., 731

DIFFICULT EXPEDITION

men from Detroit who were inflaming them to hostility.
In one of the encounters, three Frenchmen and a French
woman had been killed. He urged the Governor to hurry
on the force the Assembly had ordered for their protection.
The commander of that detachment, Major Thomas Evans,
had met with such obstacles that the middle of August found
him still east of the Blue Ridge, and Caswell indignantly
ordered him to proceed, not delaying to open the road to
Nashville but pressing on to the relief of the people. Evans,
however, could not scale the Alleghany Mountains. Di¬
verted from the direct course, he passed through Cumber¬
land Gap and made his way into Kentucky, his men cheer¬
fully enduring their march through the wilderness where
no supplies could be obtained. In Kentucky he could pur¬
chase no provisions either on public or private credit, and
was driven to furlough his men until by their labor they
could procure sufficient food to last them to Nashville. At
length, in the middle of October he reached Davidson
County after a toilsome journey of 400 miles. There he
found the inhabitants were being daily murdered, and he
hurried advices home that he himself was hourly expecting
attack.

While such was the critical condition on the Cumberland,
on the Watauga influences were silently at work under¬
mining the foundations of the new State. The moderation
and firmness of the North Carolina Assembly, its tender of
oblivion and remission of taxes, together with the hope
held out of eventual consent to the separation, had a soft¬
ening influence on the public mind. But for a period there
was so much bitterness, and the current was so strong for
separation that General Shelby himself yielded to it, re¬
signed his commission as brigadier, retired from the service
of North Carolina, and recommended to Governor Caswell
that separation should be conceded. Yet notwithstanding
his defection, and despite the strenuous efforts of Sevier
to sustain his government, the enthusiasm that had at-

1787

Indian war

S. R., XX,
786

The end
approaches

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN

Aug. 1787

The election

S. R„ XX,
120, 302

Local

friction

tended the first movements for independence gradually dis¬
appeared. When the August elections came on, only two
counties failed to elect representatives to the North Caro¬
lina Assembly. In Greene, David Campbell, the presiding
judge of Franklin State, and in Washington, where the
Sevier party had been strong, Colonel Tipton were elected
to the Senate. Sullivan elected General Joseph Martin,
and Hawkins sent to the House of Commons Henderson and
Marshall ; all of whom and their colleagues had at one time
been adherents of the new State. Only Sevier and Caswell
counties, well on the frontier — where land had been occupied
contrary to the North Carolina laws, stood faithful. The
former lay between the Little Tennessee and the French
Broad, within the Indian reservation, where more than i,ooo
families had located, and the latter in the forks of the
French Broad and Holston. Still there were many who
yet adhered to Franklin; and in all the counties conflicts
were continually, arising between the courts held under
the authority of the two different states. In Washington
County particularly these clashings reached a great height,
being colored by personal enmity as well as political antag¬
onism. In that county resided both Governor Sevier and
Col. John Tipton, neighbors and once friends; but when
on the repeal of the Act of Cession Colonel Tipton aban¬
doned the new government which he had aided to frame
and renewed his allegiance to North Carolina withdrawing
his support from Governor Sevier, a bitter personal feud
sprang up between them. And this was intensified by the
circumstance that while Colonel Tipton was the clerk of
the North Carolina county court, James Sevier a son of
the Governor, became clerk of the Franklin court, and
each dominated the justices and officers of their respective
courts. In August, 1787, Colonel Tipton, at the head of
some fifty men, undertook to take the records of the Frank¬
lin court, and quickly two hundred of the Franks embodied
to oppose him. A rumor was that their purpose was to

WAR AGAINST INDIANS

seize Governor Sevier, and fifteen hundred of his follow¬
ers rushed to protect him. The error, however, was made
known, and no blood was shed ; but there were personal
encounters between Tipton and the Seviers.

About that time Governor Sevier, seeing that the tide
was turning against the continuance of his government, de¬
termined on strengthening his cause with the people by
prosecuting an Indian war. Far to .the south the Creeks
were giving trouble, and Governor Sevier entered into ar¬
rangements with the Governor of Georgia for their con¬
quest. In September, with some difficulty, a quorum of
the Franklin Assembly met at Greenville, but confidence in
the new State had ebbed so fast that Sevier was able to
secure the passage of an act providing the means for carry¬
ing on the projected war only by a compromise. He agreed
that two delegates might be chosen to attend the North
Carolina Assembly and make such representations as they
should think proper. Judge Campbell and Landon Carter
were elected delegates for this purpose, the former having
been already chosen to represent Greene County in the
North Carolina Assembly. This action indicated that the
last stage was being reached in the existence of the new
State. Gradually the commonwealth of Franklin was pas¬
sing away. Hardly had its Assembly adjourned, and it
was the last Assembly of Franklin that met, before Gover¬
nor Sevier began to prepare for his campaign. In the great
bend of the Tennessee, in the Creek country, lay some very
desirable land, and it was arranged that this should be re¬
served for the Franklin volunteers. On November 28
Governor Sevier announced that every private should have
640 acres in the great bend, and officers in proportion ; and
the work of enlistment went briskly on.

The North Carolina Assembly

The General Assembly met at Tarboro on November 19,
and both the representatives elected by the counties beyond

Sept. 1787

Ramsay :
Hist, of
Franklin,
402

Sevier’s

action

Ibid., 389

1787

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN

Sept. 1787

S. R., XX,
120

Ibid., 225

Ibid., 235

Sevier

insulted

the mountains, and the delegates chosen by the Legislature
of Franklin, attended the session. The former were admit¬
ted to seats, and the latter given a respectful hearing when
they urged the continued desire of the people for separation.
The Assembly, however, held steadfast to its purpose.
James Martin was appointed brigadier of the district, and
a special committee was directed to report measures to quiet
the disorders in the western counties. They advised a fur¬
ther extension of the act of pardon, and that all suits for
nonpayment of taxes should be discontinued ; and these
measures were adopted. The policy of moderation and con¬
ciliation was bearing its fruits and North Carolina was
supplanting the State of Franklin whose Legislature had
ceased to exist, whose judicial officers were no longer act¬
ing, and whose executive after March would have no claim
for the exercise of authority. Governor Sevier’s term was
to end on March 3, and no successor had been chosen;
and, there being no Assembly, none could be chosen. The
State of Franklin was about to expire by a natural dissolu¬
tion, and without any great convulsion or bloodshed. But
now an incident occurred attended by unfortunate
consequences.

During the fall of 1787 a judgment having been obtained
against Governor Sevier in one of the North Carolina
courts, an execution against his property was put in the
hands of the sheriff. The levy was made on some of his
negroes on his plantation, and for fear of interference, the
sheriff removed the negroes to the premises of Colonel
Tipton for safe keeping. It was a great error in judgment
and an improper exercise of power. Necessarily it in¬
flamed Governor Sevier and was a personal affront that he
would not brook. Had no such incident occurred the State
of Franklin would probably have faded away, leaving, doubt¬
less, a memory of disappointment but without pangs of bit- -
terness. At the moment, Sevier was in Greene County col¬
lecting volunteers for the expedition against the Creeks.

SEVIER AND TIPTON

O11 learning of this seizure of his property and the removal
of his negroes to the premises of Colonel Tipton, he dis¬
patched a messenger to Caswell County, February 15, say¬
ing that the Tipton party had got very insolent and that
he had ordered fifteen men out of every, company to turn
out. He was “satisfied that a small exertion will settle the
matter to our satisfaction.” Tipton, on being informed
of Sevier’s action, wrote on February 25 : “The rebels are
again rising. Sevier is now making his last effort. This
day they are to meet at Greene. Tomorrow at Jonesboro,
and Wednesday, if not before, they push here.” And he
called for aid. A few friends reached him in time. But
soon the Governor with 150 men and a small cannon ap¬
peared on the scene and demanded an unconditional sur¬
render. Tipton valiantly defied him. Truly Sevier’s situ¬
ation was embarrassing. He had no desire for bloodshed.
His commission as Governor was to expire within three
days, and his State had virtually ceased to exist. Stigmatized
as a rebel by the Carolina officers, he doubtless com¬
prehended that to use military force against the Carolina
authorities placed in jeopardy the lives of himself and his
followers. It was levying war and high treason. For
nearly four years two conflicting governments had been
carried on in that wilderness ; and despite personal enmities,
despite the clashing of the courts and the antagonistic au¬
thority of the militia officers, there had been no serious
collision. This of itself is high evidence of the wisdom,
courage and moderation of Sevier, as well as of the for¬
bearance of the inhabitants generally. Now circumstances
springing from his personal affairs brought the Governor
face to face with an emergency threatening bloodshed.
He had probably hoped to redress his wrongs by a show
of superior strength ; but a hard fate had brought him
into a position from which he could not retreat with credit,
nor proceed without hazarding consequences for which he
had no heart. He became a prey to conflicting emotions — -
5

Feb. 1788

Sevier arms

His

situation

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN

sad and dejected. There was no assault made on the
house ; but some firing took place, not in Sevier’s presence.
Those passing into Tipton’s premises were fired on, and
one or two killed and wounded, but there was no engage¬
ment. At length, in the early morning of February 29,
Colonel Maxwell, of Sullivan County, to whom Tipton had
appealed for aid, approached with his militia. He had made
a night march. The weather was very cold, and there was
a blinding snow storm. As he neared the scene about
sunrise, Maxwell saw Sevier’s men advancing and a col¬
lision occurred. Maxwell's militia discharged a volley
and raised a great shout, which led Tipton to sally out, tak¬
ing Sevier’s party in the rear or flank. As it probably had
never been Sevier’s purpose to engage in battle, he and
his men quickly dispersed, followed, but not aggressively,
by the militia. On March 3 Sevier sent a verbal message
that if his life was spared, he would submit to North Caro¬
lina. Tipton, in reply, offered to cease hostilities, giving
Sevier and his party until the nth to submit to the laws.
The council of the Franklin State replied that they would
be obedient to the laws of the Union, and they wished a
convention of the people called at once. As for Governor
Sevier, they stipulated that he should be left at liberty
to act for himself ; and he, with some anxiety, required a
plain understanding as to what he could depend on. Ten
days later Gen. Joseph Martin, the brigadier of the district,
appealed to General Kennedy to bring about a reconciliation.
He declared that he would be sorry to imbrue his hands
in the blood of his countrymen, but ‘'nothing will do but
a submission to the laws of North Carolina.” This is the
only way, he urged, that would relieve Governor Sevier
from a very disagreeable situation. He offered Kennedy
a commission under North Carolina, and urged him to
prepare for action, as a general Indian war was expected.
Martin’s conciliatory steps and firm action had a very sal-

ACTS OF TREASON

utary effect. All opposition ceased. Every trace of the
State of Franklin disappeared.

In the meantime Sevier, no longer governor, left Wash¬
ington County and took shelter in the distant settlements.
A period of repose now set in; but in June Sevier, having
gathered some forty bold and daring men, fell on the Hi-
wassees and killed twenty of them, following this with an¬
other raid and bringing in fourteen scalps ; and then, in
July, he made a third invasion of the Indian country which
precipitated an Indian war.

Notwithstanding that the State of Franklin had fallen,
Sevier and his friends indulged a hope that the State Con¬
vention, which was to meet at Hillsboro in July to consider
the proposed Federal Constitution might cede the western
territory, or otherwise provide for a separation, but that
body adjourned without action favorable to their desires.
On the other hand Governor Johnston, because of advices
from General Martin, called his Council to meet at Hills¬
boro in July; and, on receiving information of Sevier’s bat¬
tle with Maxwell, while the Convention was still in ses¬
sion, he wrote to Judge Campbell: “It has been represented
to the Executive that John Sevier, who styles himself Cap¬
tain General of the State of Franklin, has been guilty of
high treason in levying troops to oppose the laws and gov¬
ernment of this State, and has with an armed force put to
death several good citizens. If these facts shall appear
to you .by the affidavit of credible persons, you will issue
your warrant to apprehend him.” Judge Campbell, how¬
ever, took no action. Eater, Judge Samuel Spencer crossed
the mountains to hold court at Jonesboro, and he issued
a warrant for the arrest of Sevier. On the evening of
October 9 Sevier with a number of men had a violent al¬
tercation with one Deadricks in Washington County, and
Colonel Tipton, armed with the bench warrant and doubt¬
less feeling that his hour of triumph had arrived, hastened
in pursuit with a body of horsemen. At early dawn the

July 1788

Franklin
passes away

Judge

Spencer’s

warrant

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN

Sevier taken

He escapes

Nov. 1788

S. R., XXIV,
955

S. R., XXI,
523

posse surrounded the premises of widow Brown, where
Sevier lodged that night, and at sunrise the arrest was made.
Sevier was taken to Jonesboro, and then was conveyed to
Morganton for trial. It is said that he was treated with
great discourtesy and malevolence, and for a time was
subjected to the indignity of being handcuffed; but the
details are obscure, and the circumstances were such as to
require unusual care on the part of those charged with
his safekeeping. In a letter to the General Assembly he
alleged that he “was treated with wanton cruelty and savage
insult,” and he complained of being “borne off out of the
district” for trial. Arrived at Morganton he was released
on parole to visit a brother-in-law in the vicinity. The court
being convened, he attended agreeably to his parole. In
the meantime, two sons and other friends had followed to
rescue him. “At night, when the court broke, and the
people dispersed, they with the Governor pushed forward
towards the mountains with the greatest rapidity and,
before morning, arrived at them, and were beyond the
reach of any who might think proper to pursue.” Appar¬
ently no further effort was made to capture him. At the
November session of the Assembly the act of pardon and
oblivion was again passed, but it was provided that Sevier
was so far excepted that he should not be entitled to hold
any office under the State.

Congress and the states of Georgia and North Carolina
had taken measures with the view of quieting the hostility
of the Indians ; and on a conference they agreed to peace.
But shortly afterwards Sevier with a party of men went
into one of their towns, all the braves being off on a hunt,
and brought away twenty-nine women and children ; and
the people on the frontier realized the necessity of protect¬
ing themselves.

On the 1 2th of January, 1789, at a convention held in
Greene County it was resolved to petition North Carolina to
divide the State and cede the territory west of the mountains

TREASON ' COND ON ED

to Congress; and that John Sevier keep the command of the
inhabitants. On being informed of these proceedings Gov¬
ernor Johnston wrote to Martin that "Sevier appears to be
incorrigible and I fear we will have no peace in your quar¬
ter till he is proceeded against to the last extremity” ; but
he urged Martin to act with prudence and conciliation both
in regard to the inhabitants and the Indians.

At the August election, however, Sevier abandoned his
opposition to the State of North Carolina. He was elected
to the State Senate ; and appeared along with the other
members when in November the Assembly met at Fayette¬
ville. His disabilities had not been removed ; but during
the session he filed a memorial. On November 30 a commit¬
tee reported that when the people of the western counties
first attempted to subvert the government, Sevier opposed
them and prevented elections from being held in two of the
counties, and that he was not as highly reprehensible as
many others. A bill was therefore passed including him
in the general pardon; and further it was declared that he
still held the office of brigadier general under his original
appointment in 1784. And thus the last vestige of the
State of Franklin was by conciliation and moderation
buried out of sight without any punishment of any person
for the offense of insurrection.

1789

S. R., XXI,
722

Ibid., 537

Ibid., 616

Nov., 1789

Sevier

pardoned

CHAPTER V

New Government Proposed

The Philadelphia Convention. — Virginia proposes a national
government. — North Carolina delegates assent. — New Jersey
seeks to amend the old Articles. — Hamilton’s plan. — The dead¬
lock. — North Carolina votes with the small states and secures
state equality in the Senate. — Her delegates act with unanimity.
— Caswell urges a national government. — Davie and Martin re¬
turn home. — The word “National” freely used in rough draft. —
By the vote of Massachusetts importation of slaves allowed until
1808. — On revision word “National” eliminated. — Advocates of the
Constitution called Federalists. — The instrument signed. — The
exposition given by Blount, Spaight and Williamson. — The im¬
portant action of the North Carolina delegation. — The August
elections. — The Federals successful. — The Assembly meets at
Tarborough. — The Treaty of Peace declared the law of the land.
— Iredell appointed to revise the laws. — The Legislature recom¬
mends the pardon of Bradley, and of those convicted of fraud
against the State. — Convention called to consider proposed Con¬
stitution. — Raleigh Inlet. — Samuel Johnston elected Governor. —
Atmore’s visit. — Washington, Tarborough, New Bern. — The As¬
sembly at Tarborough. — Willis. — -Lumberton. — No mails.— Books.

1787

S. R., XX,
610

Ibid., 611

Ibid., 129

Framing- the Constitution of the United States

In February, Congress, responsive to the recommenda¬
tion of the Annapolis Conference, adopted a resolution ad¬
vising the states that it was expedient that a convention
should be held at Philadelphia in May, for the sole and
express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation
and reporting such alterations and provisions as should be
adequate to the exigency of government and the preser¬
vation of the Union. As we have seen the North Carolina
Assembly appointed delegates to attend the proposed con¬
vention. Willie Jones found that he could not attend at the
time appointed, and he requested that some person “should
be appointed in my place as a matter of so much importance
must necessarily require the fullest representation.” Nor
could Caswell attend, because of ill health. To fill these
vacancies the Governor and Council appointed Dr. Hugh
Williamson and John Gray Blount, then a member of Con-

PLANNING CLOSER UNION

7 1

gress. In May, Martin, Spaight, Davie and Williamson [

reached Philadelphia. There Blount joined them for a few
days in June, but to make a quorum in Congress soon re¬
turned to New York. It was not until August that he
took his seat permanently in the Convention. On May 25
delegates from seven states being in attendance, the Con¬
vention was organized. Virginia, the chief state of the
Union, was the originator of the movement. Her son,
Washington, presided over the body, and she presented the
first series of resolves, outlining a new system of general
government. The Convention was called by Congress for
the purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation.

Virginia, at the outset, proposed to overthrow the Con- Virginia’s
federacy and establish a national government. The Virginia plan
resolutions provided for a national legislature with repre¬
sentation based on the number of free inhabitants, or on
the contributions to the public treasury. The idea of
state equality, the corner-stone of the Confederation, was
entirely eliminated. The national legislature was to con¬
sist of two branches, the one chosen by the people of the
several states, the other selected by that branch from
persons nominated by the state legislatures. There was to
be a national executive chosen by the national legislature.

The powers of government were large and supreme. This
plan, providing for a national government, was antagonized
by those who sought to maintain a federative system, and
there was a clash of opinions from the first. To test the
sentiment of the body, Randolph of Virginia offered a
resolution that “a national government ought to be estab¬
lished, consisting of a supreme legislative, judiciary and ex¬
ecutive.” The great states, Virginia, Massachusetts, Penn¬
sylvania and the two Carolinas, voted affirmatively ; as
also did Delaware. They carried the measure. The Con¬
federacy, with its state equality, was to be supplanted by
a national system. That much was fixed at the outset.

, ‘ ^ it

Although, because the members were sworn to secrecy,

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSED

1787

Life of
Iredell, II,
161

Hamilton’s

plan

Davie could not divulge the proceedings of the Convention,
he yet could ask advice, and on the introduction of the
Virginia resolves, he wrote to Iredell: “Yesterday nine
states were represented, and the great business of the meet¬
ing was brought forward by Virginia. . . . Be so good

as to favor me by the next post with your opinion how
far the introduction of judicial and executive powers, de¬
rived from Congress, would be politic or practicable in the
states. And whether absolute or limited powers for the
regulation, both as to exports or imports, would be best.
I shall trouble you frequently, and I shall expect your
opinion without reserve.”

Later came up the question of representation. North
Carolina and the other large states voted for proportional
representation in both of the branches of the legislature,
and for a time it was so determined. But June 15, New
Jersey offered a resolution that the Convention should
merely amend the Articles of Confederation, enlarging its
powers, providing for a President and Supreme Court, but
leaving the Union as it was, a Federal Union, each state
casting a single vote in Congress and with a negative on
the proceedings. This was the signal for a heated contest
in the midst of which Alexander Hamilton, against the
wishes of the other delegates from New York, offered his
plan of government. He proposed that the President
should be chosen for life ; that the Senators should also hold
for life ; that the governors of the states should be ap¬
pointed by the general government and should have a nega¬
tive on all laws passed by the state legislatures. In effect
his proposition was to establish an elective limited mon¬
archy, and to reduce the states to provinces. In the bit¬
ter debate that followed the small states were pressed to
the wall, and with hot indignation they declared that if
turned adrift by their larger sisters they would look to some
foreign state to take them by the hand.

DEADLOCK BROKEN

At length, July 2, there was a deadlock, and the Conven¬
tion was about to end in failure when all matters at issue
were referred to a grand committee of one from each state.
Davie represented North Carolina on that committee. Con¬
cessions were made ; and it was proposed that in the first
branch representation should be according to population,
while in the second branch the equality of the states was
to be observed, but money bills were to originate only in
the first branch. North Carolina now voted with the small
states, giving them the majority, and by her action the
deadlock was broken and state equality in the Senate was
secured. Discomfited by this turn in affairs, Virginia and
the other large states were much dissatisfied. This mem¬
orable vote by North Carolina turned the tide which had
been surging so strongly towards the national system with¬
out any element of state equality, and the great states, de¬
feated in their purposes, no longer insisted with vigor on
a constitution deficient in safeguards for their weaker
sisters.

In determining the basis of representation, North Caro¬
lina declared that she would never confederate on any terms
that did not rate the slaves as at least three-fifths for fed¬
eral population ; and Davie, who took high rank among the
delegates, closed an impassioned speech: “If the eastern
states, therefore, mean to exclude them altogether, the busi¬
ness is at an end.”

It was while the proceedings were pregnant with this
great matter that Williamson wrote: “The diverse and al¬
most opposite interests that are to be reconciled occasion us
to progress very slowly. I fear that Davie will be obliged
to leave us before the business is finished, which will be
a heavy stroke to the delegation.” Martin wrote to Cas¬
well that the North Carolina deputies were generally unan¬
imous in all the great matters; and Williamson with jus¬
tifiable pride also said to the Governor: “We shall on some
future occasion be at liberty to explain to your Excellency

1787

North

Carolina’s

action

Elliott:
Debates, 303

Life of
Iredell, II,
163

'i m

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSED

. R., XX,

i 66

Ibid., 752

Life of
Iredell,
II, 167

S. R., XX,
763

how difficult a part has fallen to the share of your State in
the course of this business, and I flatter myself greatly if
we have not sustained it with a principle and firmness that
will entitle us to what we have never asked for — the thanks
of the public.”

Nor were the deputies without encouraging words from
home. Caswell, who shared with Martin the greatest per¬
sonal popularity, wrote July 26, to Spaight : “I am induced
to think that the plan of a national parliament and su¬
preme executive with adequate powers to the government
of the Union will be more suitable to our situation and
circumstances than any other, but I should wish also an
independent judicial department to decide any contest that
may happen between the United States and individual
states and between one state and another ; this, however,
is only a hint. You may not see the necessity of it as for¬
cibly as I do, and I presume it is now too late to ofifer any
reasons for the establishment, as that matter I flatter mv-
self is before this time got over : all I can say respecting
the Convention is to recommend a perseverance to the end,
to the deputies from this State.

At length the general principles of a constitution were
substantially agreed on, and on July 22 Williamson again
wrote : “After much labor the Convention has nearly
agreed on the principles and outline of the system, which
we hope may fairly be called an amendment of the Federal
Government. This system we expect will in three or four
days be referred to a small committee to be properly dressed :
and if we like it when clothed and equipped, we shall
submit it to Congress.” At this time, too, Martin wrote
to the Governor : “Believe me, it is no small task to bring
to a conclusion the great objects of a united government,
viewed in different points by thirteen independent sover¬
eignties ; United America must have one general interest
as a nation, at the same time preserving the particular in¬
terests of the individual state." Finally the special com-

ESTIMATE OF DAVIE’S SERVICE

mittee, on August 6, reported the rough draft clothed,
as indicated by Williamson, which was then taken up para¬
graph by paragraph.

A fortnight later Martin again wrote to Caswell :
“Though I have not told your Excellency affirmatively what
the Convention has done, I can tell you negatively what
they have not done. They are not about to create a king,
as has been represented unfavorably in some of the east¬
ern states/’ The news of Hamilton’s plan had gotten
abroad and had created a stir in New England; indeed, the
rumor went so far as to indicate the particular person who
was to be invited to the throne in America.

Davie had then left to return home, and Williamson,
the most important man of the delegation because of his
learning, wide information, talents and reputation, writing
to Caswell, said : “I regret his departure very much, as his
conduct here has induced me to think highly of his abilities
and political principles.” A few days later, Alexander
Martin also returned to North Carolina ; the representatives
remaining being Williamson, Blount and Spaight.

The purpose to establish a national government was gen¬
erally entertained ; so, in the draft of the Constitution,
all of the departments were designated as national, and
that term was freely used throughout the document; nor
in the Convention was it objected to. In such a system,
the federative power of an absolute negative in a single
state could have no place. On August 12 Spaight wrote
to Iredell : “It is not probable that the United States will
in future be so ideal as to risk their happiness upon the
unanimity of the whole ; and thereby put it in the power
of one or two states to defeat the most salutary proposi¬
tions and prevent the Union from rising out of that con¬
temptible situation to which it is at. present reduced.”

There was a provision in the instrument as reported by
the committee, that the importation of such persons as the
several states shall think proper to admit shall not be

1787

S. R., XX,
764

Ibid., 765

Life of
Iredell,
II, 168

Importation
of slaves

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSED

1787

The

Constitution

“National”

eliminated

prohibited”; and another, that “No navigation act shall be
passed without the assent of two-thirds of the members
of each house. The latter was distasteful to Massachu¬
setts, while the first was repugnant to all the states north
of the Carolinas. In the Convention it was proposed to
insert “free” before the word persons, and Georgia and
South Carolina became alarmed. They insisted on a right
to import slaves. The Convention hastily adjourned, and
the next morning these two clauses were referred to a spe¬
cial committee of one from each state. In that committee
South Carolina and Massachusetts voted together, and their
respective wishes were consummated. Slaves were allowed
to be imported until 1808, by the joint vote of New Eng¬
land and the Southern States, except Virginia ; and by
the aid of South Carolina all restrictions on the power of
Congress to regulate commerce were removed. Thus with
the assent of New England the institution of slavery was
largely fastened on the country and rendered of much con¬
cern by the continued importation of African slaves, New
England being more interested in the slave trade than the
southern commonwealths.

On September 8 the Constitution having been agreed on,
the document was referred to a committee to revise its
style, and when, four days later, the instrument was re¬
ported the word “national” was nowhere to be found in it;
and although all of its national features remained intact,
those who advocated its adoption assumed the name of
Federalists. It was to be adopted by the people of each
state that should ratify it. On Saturday, September 15,
the Constitution was agreed to, and then it was signed
and transmitted to Congress. On September 18, Blount,
Spaight and Williamson united in explaining to Governor
Caswell the provisions . of the instrument. No exertions
had been wanting to guard and promote the particular
interests of North Carolina. Attention was directed “to
the representation in the second branch of the national

RESULTS SUMMED UP

legislature being according to numbers, that is to say : ac¬
cording to the whole number of white inhabitants added to
three-fifths of the blacks. . . . We had many things

to hope from a national government, and the chief thing
we had to fear from such a government was the risk of
unequal or heavy taxation. . . . It is provided in the

ninth section of Article i that no capitation or other direct
tax shall be laid except in proportion to the number of
inhabitants, in which number five blacks are only counted
as three. If a land tax is laid we are to pay the same
rate; for example, fifty citizens of North Carolina can be
taxed no more for all their lands than fifty citizens in one
of the eastern states. . . . When it is also considered
that five negroes are only to be charged the same poll
tax as three whites, the advantage must be considerably in¬
creased under the proposed form of government. The
Southern States have also a much better security for the
return of slaves who might endeavor to escape than they
had under the original Confederation.” And the delegates
added: “While we were taking so much care to guard our¬
selves against being overreached, and to form rules of tax¬
ation that might operate in our favor, it was not to be
supposed that our northern brethren were inattentive to
their particular interests.” Particularly, they mentioned the
power to regulate commerce. “This is what the Southern
States gave in exchange for the advantages we mentioned
above ; but we beg leave to observe, in the course of this
interchange, North Carolina does not appear to us to
have given up anything, for we are doubtless the most
independent of the Southern States ; we are able to carry
our own produce ; and if the spirit of navigation and ship
building is cherished, we will soon be able to carry for our
neighbors.”

In the debates in the Convention, Williamson, highly cul¬
tured and a man of details, took an active part; and Davie
won particular encomiums for his talents and devotion to

Taxes

Commerce

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSED

1787

Life of
Iredell,
II, 177

The parties

Ibid., 170

Jbid., 181

business. It appears that the delegation acted as a unit,
and North Carolina exerted a considerable influence. It
was by her vote that the equality of the states was pre¬
served in the Senate, and the general plan made acceptable
to the smaller states. But for North Carolina's action
on that question, the smaller states might have withdrawn,
and the new Union might not have embraced them.

The August election

In North Carolina, while the Convention was in session,
its work not yet done, and the general result unknown, the
August elections took place. There was much rancor
and political asperity evolved in the contest. Already those
who favored a closer union of the states began to be known
as “Federals”; and their opponents, who were either con¬
tent with the Confederation, or advocated only slight
amendments, were called “Anti-Federals” or Republicans.
Great bitterness was infused into the canvass, and in many
places tumults and assaults occurred. In Orange, “Hooper
had an engagement with McCauley, in which he came
ofif second best, with his eyes blacked." Generally, those
who agreed with the Federal leaders were successful. Ire¬
dell had been brought forward too late to be elected, but,
heartily in favor of the proposed Constitution, he urged
its adoption by tongue and pen, and gave to the cause
the full weight of his influence. Early in November a pub¬
lic meeting was held at Edenton and resolutions adopted
to support the Constitution ; and four days later the grand
jury attending the Superior Court of that district, presented
to the court an elaborate address prepared by Iredell: “We
admire in the new Constitution a proper jealousy of liberty,
mixed with the due regard to the necessity of a strong, au¬
thoritative government. Such a one is a requisite for a
confederative as for a single government, since it would
not be more ridiculous or futile for our own Assembly to
depend for any necessary exertion of power on the unan-

BROAD PATRIOTISM

imous concurrence of all the states in the Union.” And
the grand jury urged that the Assembly should call an
early convention.

The Assembly

It was under such influences that the Legislature met at
Tarboro on November 19. Willie Jones was not a mem¬
ber, but Person and Coor were in the Senate. That body
organized by electing as speaker Alexander Martin, one
of the delegates who had framed the Constitution. Judge
John Sitgreaves, also an advocate of its adoption, was chosen
Speaker of the House. The temper of the Assembly was
manifested by a broad patriotism and a liberal spirit.
Governor Caswell was about to retire from the executive
chair, and doubtless threw his influence toward promot¬
ing the closer union which he had advanced in its incip-
iency by appointing delegates to attend the Annapolis Con¬
ference, and which was exactly in line with his own rec¬
ommendation to the delegates.

The disposition to conform to the wishes of the general
government was made apparent by the first act of the
Assembly. The Governor communicated the correspond¬
ence from the President of the Congress urging that the
Treaty of Peace should be fully observed. So far North
Carolina had turned a deaf ear to all entreaties, declining
to give effect to the provisions of the Treaty that were
favorable to the Tories. Now, the first act of the session
declared the Treaty to' be the law of the land, and required
that the courts of the State should judge all cases accord¬
ingly. Thus ended the protracted contests over that exas¬
perating question, and the tribulations of the Loyalists and
their friends drew to a close. Although James Iredell had
failed of election his party colleagues were in the ascendancy
and he was appointed one of the State Council, and his repu¬
tation as a lawyer was so high that he was directed, as
sole commissioner, to revise and publish the Acts of Assem-

Nov. 1787

S. R., XX,
301

Ibid., 752

Ibid., 129

Treaty of
Peace

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSED

McCulloh

pardoned

S. R, XX
370

1787

Convention

called

S. R., XX,
372

The

capital

bly, with large discretionary powers. The sympathies of
the Assembly were aroused in behalf of Richard Bradley,
a young man who had killed Col. Sam Swann in a duel at
Wilmington, and it recommended that the Governor should
pardon him.* And the Governor was also authorized to
pardon McCulloh and all others convicted of frauds against
the State.

On the second day of the session Governor Caswell pre¬
sented the draft of the proposed Constitution and a
letter from Congress submitting it to the State; and Decem¬
ber 6 was set apart for its consideration. When that day
arrived the two houses formed themselves into a committee
of the whole, with Elisha Battle in the chair, to consider
the instrument. The business was speedily disposed of.
At a single sitting resolutions were agreed to recommending
the people of each county to elect five delegates to a con¬
vention to be held to consider the Constitution, and if
approved by them, to confirm and ratify it on the part of
the State. In .the Senate, James Coor, seconded by General
Person, moved an amendment that “in case they do not
agree that the said proposed Constitution shall become
binding on the people of the State, then and in that case,
they report to the executive authority of this State their
objections, and the necessary alterations that should he made
in it to secure to the people their most valuable and indis¬
pensable rights, liberties and privileges as expressed and
secured to them by the Bill of Rights and Constitution of
the State.” This proposition, however, received but eight
votes, while thirty-five members voted against it. In the
House there was no division : The Assembly also recom¬
mended to the people to authorize the convention to fix
a place for holding the General Assembly, which shall be
the unalterable seat of government.

*The Governor accordingly pardoned Bradley; but the judges held that the
Executive was not authorized by the Constitution to pardon a culprit before
conviction, and at the next session, the Legislature itself passed an act
pardoning him.

JOHNSTON INAUGURATED

To open Raleigh Inlet

The spirit of enterprise for which the Albemarle section
was famous was illustrated by an application for the incor¬
poration of a company composed of many well-known
citizens to deepen a channel and cut out an inlet to be
known as the Raleigh Inlet, from Albemarle Sound to the
sea. The affairs of the western counties received atten¬
tion, and it being again proposed to repeal the act annulling
the Act of Cession and to authorize the delegation in Con¬
gress to convey the western territory to the United States,
the proposition was defeated ; and measures were taken to
quiet the disorders in that region.

Dr. Hugh Williamson and Robert Burton were chosen
delegates to the Continental Congress, and their election
was in line with the general action of the Assembly, favor¬
able to the Federal party. Still more strongly did the
Assembly manifest its Federalism by the election of Samuel
Johnston as Governor. On being notified, Johnston re¬
paired to Tarborough, where he was received with many
marks of distinction. Davie mentioned “a number of gen¬
tlemen were to meet him on his coming to town and Cas¬
well must have felt some mortification at this attention to
Mr. Johnston, as no notice had been taken of him.” On
December 20, at a joint session of the two houses, Johnston
took the oaths, but departed from the usual custom and
delivered no inaugural.

Glimpses

In November, 1787, William Atmore, a merchant of Phil¬
adelphia, came to New Bern, Tarboro and Washington,
having business relations with many of the people of that
section. He kept a journal, in which he entered “Washing¬
ton is a town consisting of about sixty families. . . . Vessels
drawing seven and a half feet of water come up when the

river is low. . . . About two miles below the town the navi-

1787

Johnston

Governor

Life of
Iredell,
II, 216

S. R., XX,
456

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSED

Commerce

Life at
Tarboro

gation is impeded by sunken logs and by stumps of large
trees that are supposed to have grown there/’ A similar
subsidence also, is said to have occurred above Edenton.
"The trade up the river as far as Tarborough is carried on
chiefly in large scows and flats, drawing but little water,
some of these carry 70 or 80 hogsheads of tobacco. . . .

At Washington there are several convenient wharves and
there are sometimes lying here twenty sail of sea vessels.
There is a courthouse, and prison there, and there is a school
house.

“The merchants export from this Town, Tar, Pitch,
Turpentine, Rosin, Indian Corn, Boards, Scantling, Staves,
Shingles, Furs, Tobacco, Pork, Lard, Tallow, Beeswax,
Myrtlewax, Pease, and some other articles. Their Trade is
chiefly with the West Indies and with other States on this
Continent; the Navigation not admitting Vessels of great
burthen to come up to the Town; and for a large Vessel to
lay below to load at the Anchorage near the Bar is always
inconvenient, and sometimes dangerous.

“We found upon our arrival at Tarborough the place
much crowded ; the Legislature being sitting for the dis¬
patch of business — The size of the Town appear’d so inade¬
quate to the comfortable accommodation of a Legislature
composed of about 120 Commons or Delegates and about
60 Senators, together with the people attending the Ses¬
sions in business or going there on motives of pleasure,
that you will not easily believe that it was possible to provide
for them; Yet provided for they were. And they said
themselves, very comfortably ; One old Countryman said
that he had cause to be satisfied ; that he lives there much
better than at home. —

“Captain Toole, a Trader, and for the time Innkeeper
provided for 40 or 50 Members, with a great number of
others ; every family almost received some of the Members ;
Beds were borrowed from the Country, 3 or 4 placed in
a room, and two of their Honors in a Bed — : provisions

LEGISLATURE IN SESSION

were in plenty. Horses were mostly sent to Farms in the
vicinity of the Town — Mr. Falkener who formerly resided
sometime in Philadelphia brought hither his E. O. Table;
Gambling was carried to great extent at this Table and also
at other Games ; at times several of my acquaintances have
told me of their losses, — A Trader of Newbern lost in one
night 600 pounds — Some attempts were made to represent
some dramatic pieces, but with very bad success — Two of
the Actresses were Adventuresses from Charleston.

“The Court House is a large wooden building of two
Apartments, and standing on brick Pillars ; in the long
Room the Commons met ; in the other the Senate — Any
person is at liberty to go and hear the debates in either
House, Standing uncover’d without their Bar — The bar at
the Senate was a Board laid across two old trunks, standing
on the ends which served very well pro tern.

"The Bar of the Commons House was the Court House
Bar — Every Member sat with his Hat on except when ad¬
dressing the Chair — The business before the house not
being very interesting I soon retired — But soon after hear¬
ing that the new Governor was to be Sworn into office I
returned. There was now a joint Meeting of the two
houses in the large Room, a Committee of 3 or 4 gentlemen
went to him, they walk’d together to the House. All the
Members rose on his entering. The usual Oath of Alle¬
giance to the State and Oath of Office as Governor being
by him distinctly repeated and sworn, he retired to his
lodgings, there being no Ceremony of Proclamation.”

Being rowed across the river at Blounts ferry by two
negroes, Atmore asked one :

“Where was you born, boy?”

“I was born in Guinea.”

“Don’t you want to go back to your Country?”

“I have learnt another Language now, they will kill me
if I go back to my home — ”

“How came you brought from yr. Country?”

1787

The custom

The

imported

African

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSED

1787

Life at
Lumberton

“I went with many more to attack a town, where they were
too strong for us, they killed a great many, and took 140
of us prisoners, and sold us.”

‘‘Had you not better have let them alone and remained in
peace at home ?”

“No. My Nation always fight that Nation.”

“And what would you do if you return’d to your Country
now, you’d be quiet?”

“No, I go there, and fight ’em worse than ever.”

Mr. Atmore visited New Bern where he had friends,,
and he gives a pleasing account of the society there. And
there he met the daughter of Judge Sitgreaves, who event¬
ually married him. He describes the palace as untenanted,
but the spacious hall sometimes was used for balls, and in
the building a school was kept.

Gen. John Willis had been a soldier in the Revolutionary
War. He was a lawyer and a civil engineer and also a
large planter and mill owner. He laid ofif the town of
Lumberton on some of his land ; and established an academy
there of which David Kerr was the principal before he was
employed at the University. Somewhat later he proposed
to sell to W. Norment his lands in the Raft Swamp and
Drowning Creek, 11,776 acres, with his mills. The trade
from Lumberton was by flats down the river to Georgetown.
He was in the Assembly at times and in that of 1787 at
Tarboro. On December 10, when the session was about a
month old, he wrote to his wife : “I now have an oppor¬
tunity to write to you — a young man going to Fayetteville —
the first I have had since I arrived here.” After telling
about calling the Convention of 1788, he adds: “I have the
future of the dear children around you continually in my
views. I will bring when I come about 20 pounds worth
of excellent books, just such as I know you will be fond
of.” He became a member of the Convention.

CHAPTER VI

Convention of 1788

The influence of Virginia. — Ratification doubtful. — Jefferson’s
attitude. — The people divided in every state. — Virginia ratifies in
June. — Opposition in New York weakens. — The Convention meets
at Hillsboro in July. — Willie Jones influenced by action of Vir¬
ginia — Governor Johnston presides. — The Anti-Federals in con¬
trol. — The Constitution considered by paragraphs. — The Conven¬
tion fails to ratify and proposes amendments. — The seat of govern¬
ment located in Wake County.

The Convention was to meet at Hillsboro in July, July, 1788
and in March the election of delegates took place. Pre¬
liminary to it great interest was manifested. Iredell pub¬
lished in the State Gazette at New Bern a masterly dis¬
sertation on the proposed Constitution that attracted wide Lifeof
attention. But the Virginia influence was strong. In that {ge6de11, IIf
state Mason had published a caustic criticism of the instru¬
ment, and although Jefferson was in France he maintained
an active correspondence with friends, to whom he ex¬
pressed grave apprehensions. Even before the close of Jan¬
uary Davie wrote : “The great deference this State has
been accustomed to pay to the political opinions of the Old
Dominion will, I believe, have a very bad effect on the de¬
termination of this great question. This circumstance,
added to the opposition already formed, in my opinion, ren¬
ders its adoption in this State extremely doubtful.” In May

a j j 217

he and Moore and Iredell prepared a pamphlet, published
by contributions for general -circulation. But the cause was
hopeless. Willie Jones had from the first been opposed to
the Constitution, and he at once became the head of a party
having its defeat for their object. The men in office were
generally unfavorable to any change, and a cry was raised
that the poor would be ruined by taxes and that there was
no security for freedom of conscience. The paper at New
Bern, published by Xavier Martin, was strongly Anti-

CONVENTION OF 1788

Life of
Iredell, II,

223

Ibid., 329

Federal, and although most of the leaders of thought were
favorable to accepting the Constitution, those who had the
ear of the masses were in opposition. At the election,
Allen Jones, Blount, Hooper, Alfred Moore, Alexander
Martin and Judge Williams, all Federals, were defeated.

Jefferson’s views

About the middle of December Jefferson had written from
Paris : “Our new Constitution is powerfully attacked in the
American newspapers. The objections are that its effect
would be to form the thirteen states into one ; that, pro¬
posing to melt all down into one general government, they
have fenced the people by no declaration of rights ; they have
not renounced the power of keeping a standing army ; they
have not secured the liberty of the press ; they have reserved
the power of abolishing trials by jury in civil cases; they
have proposed that the laws of the Federal legislature shall
be paramount to the laws and constitutions of the states ;
they have abandoned rotation in office, and particularly,
their president may be reelected from four years to four
years, for life, so as to render him a king for life.” Later,
while pointing out what pleased him in the Constitution, he
again referred with disapprobation to an omission of a bill
of rights, providing “for freedom of religion, freedom of
the press, protection against standing armies, restrictions
of monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the
habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury.” Finally he wrote:
“I wish with all my soul that the first nine conventions may
accept the new Constitution, because this will insure to us
the good it contains, which I - think great and important.
But I equally wish that the four latest conventions, which¬
ever they may be, may refuse to accede to it till a bill of
rights be annexed.”

VIRGINIA RATIFIES

The opposition

The question of ratifying the Constitution indeed divided
the people into two hostile camps from Massachusetts to
Georgia. The proposition was bitterly antagonized. The
opponents were inflamed by every art that could appeal to
popular prejudice as well as to sound judgment. Every¬
where there was passionate remonstrance against putting in
peril the liberties of the people — met, however, by the advo¬
cates of the measure with an equally forcible presentation
of the necessity of securing the benefits of the Union and of
stable government. The future of America hung trem¬
blingly in the balance. At first the result was doubtful.

In Pennsylvania there was hot opposition, but in Decem¬
ber Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey ratified; and
Georgia and Connecticut in January. The convention of
Massachusetts, after a long and severe struggle, in Feb¬
ruary ratified by a vote of 187 to 168, proposing a great
number of amendments. By May, Maryland and South
Carolina had also adopted the Constitution, proposing
amendments. Only eight states had ratified ; and the result
was expected to be adverse in the remaining states.

The Virginia ratification

Such was the situation when on June 2 the Virginia Con¬
vention met. There was bitter opposition; the majority was
adverse, and the result was altogether uncertain. The great
leaders were divided. At length, after a discussion ex¬
tending over three weeks, the influence of Washington pre¬
vailed, and it was on June 26 agreed by a vote of 89 to 79
to ratify; and the form of ratification adopted was: “We
the delegates of the people of Virginia . . . do in the

name and in behalf of the people of Virginia, declare and
make known, that the powers granted under the Consti¬
tution, being derived from the people of the United States,
may be resumed by them whenever the same shall be per-

1788

CONVENTION OF 1788

verted to their injury or oppression.” A bill of rights
was proposed and twenty-one amendments.

Likewise New Hampshire ratified on June 21. In July,
the New York Convention met. As elected, the majority
against the Constitution was overwhelming; but when New
Hampshire and Virginia ratified, the opposition weakened.
It was, however, proposed that a new convention of all the
states should be held ; and finally, on the strength of pledges
that there would be amendments, the instrument was on
July 26, agreed to by a majority of three votes; a large
number of amendments being submitted: and New York,
in her ratification declared her right to withdraw.

The Convention

On July 21 the North Carolina Convention met in Old
St. Matthews Church at Hillsboro, which had by act
of 1784 been converted into a free church. The full mem¬
bership was 280, of whom 268 were in attendance. There
were two chief factions : those who favored ratification re¬
gardless of amendments, and those who proposed that there
should be amendments before North Carolina would ratify.
Of the latter Willie Jones was the leader. Originally he
had opposed the adoption of the Constitution, and was
“perfectly Anti-Federal”; but on the ratification by Vir¬
ginia, realizing that the new government would be ordained,
he abandoned his earlier position and sought to secure
amendments before North Carolina should yield her assent.
Many of the Federal leaders had been defeated, but among
the members were Johnston, Iredell, Maclaine, Davie,
Spaight, Blount, Grove, Cabarrus, Steele, Hill, Sitgreaves,
Owen and other Federals of the first water. Davie and
Spaight had a hand in preparing the Constitution; and Ire¬
dell and Maclaine had been its sponsors in North Carolina.
In the opposition were Elisha Battle, Willie Jones, Spencer,
Person, David Caldwell, James Galloway, Clinton, Mont-
fort, Lenoir, Mebane, Kenan, Egbert Haywood, William

DEBATING THE CONSTITUTION

Shepperd, Benjamin Williams, Hargett, Joel Lane, Hinton,
Rutherford, Josiah Collins, Bloodworth, Devane, Branch,

Dickson, General McDowell, John Macon, Locke, Tipton
from beyond the mountains, and other men of consequence.

It soon developed that the Federals were in a woeful
minority; but Governor Johnston was unanimously chosen
President, a compliment no less due to his eminence than
to his official character as Governor of the State. On the
third day, Galloway, seconded by Macon, moved that the
Constitution and other papers be. read, and that the Consti¬
tution be discussed clause by clause. Willie Jones, seconded
by General Person, moved that the question on the Consti¬
tution be immediately put. He said that the Constitution
had been so long the subject of deliberation that he believed
every member was prepared to give his vote at once. To
this Iredell replied, if that was to be the procedure, the
voters at the polls might as well have determined the matter ;
that the Constitution had been submitted to the Convention
for debate and deliberation. Galloway then proposed to go
into committee of the whole. To this Person objected, but
the Convention took that course, and by a majority deter¬
mined to discuss the Constitution, clause by clause. Evi¬
dently Willie Jones and General Person did not control the
body. The discussions continued a week, Elisha Battle pre¬
siding as chairman of the committee of the whole. As it
seemed from the first that the Constitution would not be Life of

Iredell, II, 8

ratified, Iredell and Davie, hoping that the publication of the
debates might have some effect in procuring its ratification
on a subsequent occasion, employed a stenographer to take
them down and, at some pecuniary loss, published them.

The opposition was alike from the west and the east. The
Federals argued that the instrument had to be adopted in its
entirety or rejected: that the rejection of one clause carried
the whole Constitution. The debates were full, warm, and
often acrimonious. While the Federal leaders spoke much,

Jones and Person did not enter into the discussion. Judge

CONVENTION OF 1788

Life of
Iredell,
15

Spencer, a graduate of Princeton, Dr. Caldwell, the head
of the famous academy, Timothy Bloodworth, James Gallo¬
way, Joseph McDowell, Matthew Locke and Joseph Taylor
were the chief debaters against the instrument. At the
outset, Dr. Caldwell, as a basis to test the principles of the
Constitution, submitted some political maxims, the first of
which was that government is a compact between the rulers
and the people ; but the Convention refused to adopt them,
although strongly urged by Person and Rutherford. And
as the Convention refused to follow Jones in his proposition
of no discussion and Dr. Caldwell in laying down funda¬
mental principles, apparently the members were retaining
their independence, and there was a gleam of hope that
a majority might be won for ratification. Accordingly the
Federal leaders entered on the discussion, intent on persua¬
sion, and determined, if possible, to answer every reasonable
objection. They all participated in the debates, which,
though sometimes heated, were generally in good temper,
and the presentation of the various provisions of the Con¬
stitution by Davie, Iredell, Maclaine, Johnston, and their
associates excites admiration for its fairness, accuracy and
comprehensiveness. On the other hand the objections to
the instrument, the necessity of amendments to fully secure
the rights of the people and of the states, were forcibly
presented.

Dr. Caldwell animadverted with severity on the expres¬
sion, “We, the people.’’ “Were not they who framed this
Constitution the representatives of the legislatures of the
different states? In my opinion, they had no power from
the people at large to use their name or to act for them.
They were not delegated for that purpose.’’

This allegation that the delegates had exceeded their
powers led to an exhaustive speech from General Davie, one
of the delegates involved: “Were not the state legislatures
afterwards to review our proceedings? Is it not through
their recommendations that the plan of the Convention is

ARGUMENT ON ADOPTION

submitted to the people? . . . The Confederation de¬

rived its sole support from the state legislatures. This
rendered it weak and ineffectual. It was therefore neces¬
sary that the foundations of this government should be laid
on the broad basis of the people. . . . The House of

Representatives are immediately elected by the people.
The Senators represent the sovereignties of the State.”
Davie’s exposition was candid, thorough, and highly credit¬
able to him as a statesman. Joseph Taylor, however, re¬
plied : “This is a consolidation of all the states. Had it
said ‘We, the states,’ there would have been a federal inten¬
tion in it. But, Sir, it is clear that a consolidation is in¬
tended.” On the other hand Maclaine insisted : “It is no
more than a blank till it be adopted by the people. When
that is done here, is it not the people of the State of North
Carolina that do it, joined with the people of the other
states who have adopted it?”

When the clause permitting the importation of slaves un¬
til 1808 was reached there were strong expressions in favor
of putting an end to the traffic; but as to manumission,
Galloway declared : “It is impossible for us to be happy, if,
after manumission, they are to stay among us.”

In the course of argument Iredell said : “There was a
great debate in the Convention whether the Senate should
have an equal power of originating money bills. . . .

I have reason to believe that our representatives had a great
share in establishing this excellent regulation (the exclu¬
sive right in the House of Representatives), and in my
opinion they deserve the public’s thanks for it.” Arguing
for adoption, Iredell continued : “That power which created
the government can destroy it. . . Massachusetts,
South Carolina, New Hampshire and Virginia have all
proposed amendments ; but they all concurred in the neces¬
sity of immediate adoption.”

Judge Spencer argued that there should be a bill of
rights, something to confine the power of government within

Life of
Iredell, II,
16

Ibid., 101

Ibid., 120

Ibid., 130

9 2

CONVENTION OF 1788

Life of
Iredell, II,
169

Ibid., 169

its proper bounds. It would keep the states, he urged,
from being swallowed up by a consolidated government.
He objected strongly to the jurisdiction of the Federal
courts. He thought those courts would prove oppresssive,
and he urged that there would undoubtedly be clashing be¬
tween them and the state courts. He expressed the view
that the business and the remaining power of the state
courts would gradually be abolished.

Mr. Locke said that if the state judiciary might be par¬
tial so would the Federal judges. He deemed it deroga¬
tory to the honor of the State to give this jurisdiction to
the Federal judges. “I greatly fear,” he exclaimed, “for
this State and for other states.” But Governor Johnston,
Iredell, Maclaine, Davie and others combated these views,
the discussion taking a wide range.

The opponents of the Constitution, admitting that the
new government acted on the individual and not the state,
urged the absolute necessity of a bill of rights to guard
and protect the liberties of the citizens, which were in dan¬
ger because there was no sufficient limitation on the powers
of government.

On the other hand, said Maclaine, “the powers of Con¬
gress are limited and enumerated. . . . We retain all

those rights we have not given away to the general gov¬
ernment.”

The subject of preserving the rights and powers of the
states was discussed at great length ; and while the doctrine
was broadly maintained that the Federal Constitution, when
adopted, would become a part of the State Constitution, it
was declared that the latter must yield to the former only
in those particular cases where power is given. The State
Constitution, they said, is not to yield in any other case
whatsoever. The laws of the United States would be
supreme, but only in cases consistent with the powers spe¬
cially granted. Maclaine, perhaps the most violent Feder¬
alist in the body, said: “This proposal is made to the peo-

Ibid., 180

STATUS OF STATES DISCUSSED

pie. No man will deny their authority to delegate powers, £

and recall them, in all free countries.” To this there was
no dissent.

The necessity of some amendments was freely admitted,
opinion being divided as to the scope of the necessary
amendments, and as to whether there should be ratification
prior to the adoption of the amendments.

At length, after a patient discussion of every clause of the
Constitution, Governor Johnston proposed that the conven¬
tion should ratify the instrument, and at the same time pro¬
pose amendments. Somewhat later, Willie Jones said that
he was opposed to that step ; he proposed that there should
be certain amendments before North Carolina should ratify.

On the following day, for the first time, he explained his
views: “It is objected that we will be out of the Union.

So I wish to be. We are left at liberty to come in at any Life of
time. It is said we shall suffer a great loss for want of a 225
share of the imposts. I have no doubt we shall share it
when we come in, as much as if we adopt it now. I have
a resolution in my pocket, which I intend to introduce if
this resolution is carried, recommending it to the Legislature
to lay an impost, for the use of Congress, on goods im¬
ported into this State similar to that which may be laid bv
Congress on goods imported into the adopting states. This
shows the committee what is my intention, and on what foot¬
ing we are to be. This being the case I will forfeit my life
we shall come in for a share. It is said that all the offices of
Congress will be filled, and we shall have no share in appoint¬
ing the officers. This is an objection of very little impor¬
tance. Gentlemen need not be in such haste. If left eighteen
months or two years without offices, it is no great cause of
alarm. The gentleman further said that we could send no
representatives, but must send ambassadors to Congress, as
a foreign power. I assert the contrary ; and that whenever a
convention of the states is called, North Carolina will be
called on like the rest. ... I have in my proposition adopted

CONVENTION OF 1788

Life of
Iredell, II,
224

Ibid., 250

word for word the Virginia amendments, with one or two
additional ones. . . . There is no doubt we shall obtain

our amendments and come into the Union when we please.”
He mentioned Mr. Jefferson’s wish that nine states should
ratify and four reject the Constitution. “ Amendments
might be by conventions or by the legislatures. In either
case, it may take up about eighteen months. For my part
I had rather be eighteen years out of the Union than adopt
it in its present defective form.” His proposition and re¬
marks led to a very hot debate. Davie declared that it
would be arrogantly saying to the other states : “I wish to
be in copartnership with you, but the terms must be as I
please.” Finally, after a long day of animated discussion,
Jones’s resolution was agreed to by a great majority and
was reported to the Convention. It provided that a bill of
rights and twenty-six amendments should be laid before
Congress for consideration previous to the ratification of the
Constitution on the part of North Carolina. xA.t that time
the action of New York was unknown; and indeed it was
thought that that state would not adopt the Constitution ; but
Virginia’s action influenced the Anti-Federals at the North
as well as in North Carolina. With great difficulty, Iredell
on Saturday, August 2, obtained a vote on his proposition to
ratify at once, while recommending five amendments. This
motion received 84 votes, while there were 184 in the nega¬
tive. And then the report of the committee of the whole,
being the resolution offered by Willie Jones, was agreed to
by the reverse vote, 184 to 84. Willie Jones then offered his
other proposition, which was agreed to ; that as the Conven¬
tion had thought proper neither to ratify nor reject the Con¬
stitution, it was recommended to the Legislature to pass a
law for collecting an impost for the use of Congress similar
to any that Congress should pass.

LOCATING THE STATE GOVERNMENT

The Convention then passed an ordinance directing the
General Assembly to provide for the selection of a site for
the State capital within ten miles of the plantation of Isaac
Hunter in the county of Wake — that being as near as pos¬
sible the geographical center of the State and on the great
highways leading to every section. After being in session
eleven days on Monday, August 4, the body adjourned.

CHAPTER VII

The Separate State

The people divided. — The Federals strong. — Congress provides
for election of President, etc— Indian war feared. — The proposed
capital. — The two houses at points.- — Another convention agreed
on — Delegates appointed to New York’s proposed Federal Conven¬
tion. — Johnston again Governor. — Jones’s progressive action. — The
County of Tennessee. — The District of Mero formed. — Andrew
Jackson. — Iredell honored. — New enterprises. — South Carolina
negroes. — The Confederacy ends on March 4. — The interregnum.
— April 30 Washington President. — The bust of John Paul
Jones. — The State continues as a sovereign State. — Its prosperity.
— Wilmington’s commerce. — North Carolina pays her debt to the
Confederacy. — The Indians pacified — Federal legislation. — The
election for Assemblymen and for delegates. — The House elects
Caswell speaker. — The Convention elects Johnston to preside. —
The Assembly takes recess. — The Convention ratifies the Consti¬
tution. — Davie in the Assembly. — Federal elections provided for. —
The western territory ceded. — At Davie’s instance the University
established. — Fayetteville again prevents locating the capital. —
The death of Caswell — of Hooper — of Maclaine — of Penn. — The
Great Experiment.

The new
Union

Nine other states having ratified the Constitution of the
United States by June, 1788, the Constitution by its terms
took effect between them. The Confederation that had
been agreed to be perpetual was thus supplanted by a new
Union in which North Carolina had no part. The Conti¬
nental Congress, however, continued its session, making
provision for the establishment of the new government. In
the State the result of the Convention had been so strongly
foreshadowed by the returns of the election of members
that while it did not conform to the wishes of the Federal
leaders it did not disappoint their expectations. Soon after
adjournment it became known that New York, while calling
for a new convention, had followed the example of Virginia,
so that besides North Carolina the only state that did not
ratify was Rhode Island, and she was held in such low es¬
teem that her nonaction gave no concern. Generally
throughout the Union while the Anti-Federal party had

BITTER FEELINGS

shown great strength, it had failed of success. The only
respectable state not acceding to the Union, there was rea¬
son to hope North Carolina would not long remain sepa¬
rated from her sisters. But the opposition had been carried
to a great height and, as the issue involved government
affecting the happiness, prosperity and liberties of the peo¬
ple, the defeated partisans, numbering nearly one-half of the
inhabitants, were sore, sullen and dissatisfied. In their
view, the obstinacy of their opponents was very reprehen¬
sible and harsh epithets were hurled at Willie Jones and
his coadjutors and much bitterness was evolved.

The election

As the August election for assemblymen approached it
was evident that events had weakened the influence of the
Anti-Federalists. The potent argument against isolation was
perhaps strengthened by the hope that some of the public
characters entertained of sharing in the offices of the new
government. Thus at the election the policy of rejecting
was not generally approved and the Anti-Federals sustained
a reverse. Especially at the west was the change of sen¬
timent noted. Surry elected three Federals ; and in Rowan
both Rutherford and Locke, theretofore invincible popular
idols, were beaten. Still the general result was unknown
and Willie Jones, whose following was so large in the Con¬
vention, expected to control the Assembly. He, himself, at
variance with his habits of life, had stood for the Senate and
was returned a member of that body, while General Person
was again elected to the House. They had cooperated in
their purposes, first to reject and then to await amendments;
and now assuming that they still controlled, they announced
their plan to remain out of the Union for a period of five
or six years. Halifax was one of the seats of intelligence
whence radiated the influence that swayed the actions of the
interior communities; and although his brother Allen, his
brother-in-law, Colonel Ashe, and all of his friends who
7

August,

1788

Life of
Iredell, II,
239

THE SEPARATE STATE

habitually gathered around his fireside were now in favor
of immediate adoption, Colonel Jones adhered with persist¬
ence to his plan, and was constantly addressing the people
and pointing out the disastrous consequences that would
possibly attend the supremacy of the Federal judiciary.
But as the sentiment in Virginia had at the outset strength¬
ened Anti-Federalism in Carolina, now her action in rati¬
fying placed the State in a predicament that constrained her
to accept the Constitution and the new Union as the less
of two evils. Thus the prospect was hopeful for ratifica¬
tion ; and the Federal leaders, taking heart, entered with
enthusiasm upon a new agitation. Iredell published an ad¬
dress to the voters, and Johnston, Davie, Steele and others
distributed petitions for the people in the several counties
to sign, praying for a new convention. All was activity
in the Federal camp. Indeed, leading men in the other
southern states, realizing the importance to southern inter¬
ests of North Carolina’s aid in Congress, urged the Feder¬
alists to renew action.

Providing for the new government

In the meanwhile Congress, early in September, in order
to inaugurate the new government, provided for the election
of members of Congress and presidential electors. These
latter were to be appointed in January and were to choose
a President in February. The Senators and Representatives
were to assemble in New York on March 4, and on that day,
Sept. 1788 when the Congress should be organized, the President was
to be inaugurated. This act was officially communicated
to Governor Johnston in September; and otherwise it seemed
to be considered that the delay in North Carolina’s accession
was merely temporary. But the fall passed in uncertainty,
all depending on the temper of the Assembly, which could
not be ascertained with accuracy.

FEARS OF INDIAN WAR

The Assembly

The Assembly was to meet at Fayetteville on the first
of November, and as the members came in it was found that
other matters than the Union were engaging their attention.
For a time western affairs and the probability of an Indian
war were uppermost in their minds ; for there was reason
to apprehend that a general confederacy had been formed by
all the tribes, those at the North being supplied with arms
and ammunition by the British. The situation was alarm¬
ing, and as the inhabitants on the Cumberland feared that
North Carolina alone could not adequately protect them,
the members representing those counties now desired to be
under the protection of the Union.

Another subject of absorbing interest to many members
was the ordinance of the convention fixing the seat of gov¬
ernment in Wake County. All the influence of the Cape
Fear region was actively arrayed in opposition, and the ad¬
vantage of selecting as the capital Fayetteville, a thriving
town at the head of navigation with highways affording
transportation facilities to the western counties, was pressed
with vigor. But the Albemarle members were opposed to
Fayetteville.

However, overshadowing these local subjects the great
matter was that the State was separated from the Union.
In the first days of the session the Federals were sanguine
in their expectations of a new convention. Martin and Sit-
greaves, both Federalists, were reelected speakers, but their
personal popularity was also a factor and their success was
not a sure test of the main matter. In his message, Gov¬
ernor Johnston urged: “The first object which calls for
your serious attention is the situation into which the State
will be cast on the meeting of the Congress of the United
States” ; and petitions were presented from nineteen coun¬
ties, among them Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Randolph
and Surry, and even Halifax, praying for a new convention.

Life of
Iredell, II,
245

Out of
the Union

S. R„ XXIr
10

Ibid., 21

IOO

THE SEPARATE STATE

Life of
Iredell, II,
246

S. R., XX,
924

S. R., XXI,
33

Life of
Iredell, II,
245

S. R„ XXI,
52

S. R., XX,
514

But the matter was in doubt. At length, after most of the
members had arrived, on the night of the eighth day of
the session, a secret meeting was held, and it was ascer¬
tained that the Federals had a small majority of the mem¬
bers. The Senate was Federal, but the Anti-Federals had
a majority in the House. It would seem that Willie Jones
early realized the futility of opposing the popular current
which was now setting in favor of the Union. On Monday,
the ioth of November, he moved that the Senate should pro¬
pose a conference of the two houses, a joint meeting, to hear
the petitions read, and to deliberate on them and to determine
on the propriety of convening a new convention. The
Senate assented and sent the message, but the House did not
accept the invitation.

The strongest argument for action was based on the iso¬
lated situation the State would be in were she to remain out
of the Union; but there came a report that, under the in¬
fluence of Patrick Henry, the Assembly of Virginia would
refuse to participate in the organization of the new gov¬
ernment, thus virtually reversing the action of that state.
Besides, New York had proposed another convention of the
states, and there was a hope that such a body might convene.
It was, perhaps, because of the reported reactionary move¬
ment in Virginia and the expectation of a new Federal con¬
vention that the House declined to join in the proposed con¬
ference, and that General Person secured on the 15th a
vote in the House of 55 to 4 7 for his resolution declaring
that: “It is now not expedient to call a new convention.”
This declaration, however, did not deter Caswell and the
other Federal leaders from pressing forward. The logic
of the situation was irresistible, and the strength of the
Federals was sufficient to bear down the opposition. Two
days after the House had spoken Caswell offered in the
Senate a resolution that “another convention should be
called for the purpose of reconsidering the new Constitu¬
tion,” and it passed by the decisive vote of 30 to 15.

NEW CONVENTION ORDERED

101

Jones’s attitude

Willie Jones voted in the negative ; but immediately on the
adoption of the resolution, either in deference to the popular
will, or perhaps because of his position as chairman of the
Committee on Public Business, he introduced a formal
joint resolution providing for a new convention to deliber¬
ate and determine on the said Constitution, and amendments,
if any. He proposed that each county should be represented
by three members, and that the election should be held in
August and the convention meet in October. Thus he
would secure a year for developments and deliberation; but
Caswell was not content with the proposed delay and sought
to make haste by holding the election on December 15, al¬
lowing less than a month for the canvass. While the sen¬
timent in the Senate was overwhelming for Union, this
haste was not approved, and perhaps in view of Colonel
Jones’s attitude and to conciliate his followers, Caswell’s
proposition was voted down and Jones’s resolution was
passed without amendment. The concession was apparently
effective, for although but two days had elapsed since the
House had declared against a convention, on receiving
this resolution, that body informed the Senate that if the
representation should be increased to five members from
each county, and if the convention should meet on the
third Monday of November it would concur in the adoption
of the resolution. The Senate thereupon made the proposed
amendments, and the House concurred ; and the Federals re¬
joiced at this accomplishment of their purposes. The diver¬
gence between Jones and General Person was further empha¬
sized, when a few days later, the latter, manifesting his dis¬
satisfaction, moved to reconsider the resolution to call the
convention ; but the House was no longer under his control,
and his motion failed, only 32 voting with him while 50 sus¬
tained the previous action of the Assembly. The struggle
was over and Federalism was triumphant. There was, how-

s. r., xx,

515

Ibid., 516

S. R., XXI,
67

Ibidi., 130

102

THE SEPARATE STATE

S. R., XXI,
68

S. R., XX,
544

Jones’s

measures

S. R., XX,
505.

Life of
Iredell, II,
276

ever, an expectation that the call made by New York for an¬
other Federal convention might materialize, and to be ready
for the contingency, should such a body convene, the Assem¬
bly elected delegates to represent the State in it. Governor
Johnston and other Federals, while not in sympathy with
that movement and declining to be candidates for the honor
of representing the State, made no opposition, and Person,
McDowell, Locke, Bloodworth and Lenoir were chosen.
Delegates from New York, Pennsylvania and, perhaps, other
states did subsequently meet, but as the movement was with¬
out the countenance of the Continental Congress, it had no
result.

Other business

d he Assembly, being now in thorough accord with the
Federal leaders, no longer delayed the election of a gov¬
ernor for the ensuing year, and the honor was again awarded
to Governor Johnston. Willie Jones was chairman of the
committee to prepare bills of a public nature, and as such he
presented many bills of importance. Perhaps not all of
these measures originated with himself, but his advocacy of
some of them gives assurance that he was a statesman of
breadth of view, and superior to the environments of the
day, and possessed of sound judgment and correct appre¬
hension. North Carolina’s trade was largelv carried on
through the ports of the adjoining states and it was consid¬
ered that her commerce was hampered because her paper
currency had fallen in value, the depreciation being about
30 per cent. As a corrective, Jones offered a measure
providing that debts should be recovered according to the
contract. Although this bill failed a beneficial result was
reached by the revenue act, which contained a direction to
collect a tax for the sinking fund, so large an amount of
currency being thereby withdrawn from the public that
within a year State paper, becoming scarce, was on a par
with specie.

COUNTY REPRESENTATION

103

Colonel Jones, although one of the largest slaveholders in
the State, perhaps partaking the views of Jefferson, pre¬
sented a bill forbidding the importation of slaves, but this
measure was in advance of the times and it then failed.
Another proposition made by him was apparently more in
harmony with the views of those who had been reckoned
as conservatives than with the principles of ultra democracy
commonly attributed to him. He offered a resolution to the
effect that “representation under the Constitution was op¬
pressive and burdensome, and that representation ought to
be distributed in proportion to the share which the counties
contribute to the public fund.” The vote on this resolution
was a tie in the Senate, and it devolving on Speaker Martin
to give the casting vote, he defeated it. But the subject
was not disposed of ; and the Senate passed a resolution
submitting it to the Convention to “take into consideration
the provisions of the State Constitution fixing representa¬
tion in the Senate and the House, and to alter them so that
the Legislature may be less expensive and its measures the
more stable and uniform.” This was the first manifestation
of dissatisfaction with the working of the Constitution
which gave to each county, despite inequalities in property
and in population, an equal vote in the Assembly ; and al¬
though later that subject entered largely into the politics
of the State it was long before any change was effected.

The western country

On the Cumberland, the Indians were hostile and despite
the active efforts of Gen. Joseph Martin, who was in com¬
mand, the' settlers were much harassed ; and they were also
greatly concerned by the denial by Spain of their right to
navigate the Mississippi River. They desired to raise a
volunteer force of fifteen thousand men to crush the In¬
dians and wished to be under the protection of the Union
and of the Federal forces.

s. r., xx,

492

Ibid., 566

Constitu¬
tional reform

S. R., XX,
567

104

THE SEPARATE STATE

S. R., XX,
513

Tennessee

S. R., XXI,
637

Andrew

Jackson

Iredell

Life of
Iredell, II,
266

The eastern members were not willing to precipitate an
Indian war and the situation was embarrassing. As a solu¬
tion of the difficulties, notwithstanding North Carolina had
not then become a member of the new Union, Willie Jones,
doubtless regarding the delay as merely temporary, brought
forward a bill to cede the western territory to the United
States ; but the Assembly was not ready for that step, and
the proposition went over to the next session. Instead,
the county of Davidson was again divided, the new county
being named Tennessee, the first application of that name
to any territorial division ; and the three counties on the
Cumberland were formed into a district, called Mero, in
honor of the Spanish governor at Mobile, whose kindliness
had won for him the regard of the western inhabitants.
For this district military officers were at once appointed,
and also a judge; but in the act establishing the courts no
provision was made for a state’s attorney. Thus the judge,
John McNary, found it necessary to appoint a state’s at¬
torney for the Superior Court of Davidson, November
term, 1788, and for the district of Mero the next year.
He appointed Andrew Jackson, a young man who was born
in the present county of Union, and who had been admitted
to the practice of law in Surry County in 1787, although
barely of age.

To carry into effect the ordinance of the Convention fixing
the seat of government in Wake County, Jones introduced
a bill appointing commissioners for that purpose ; but the
influence of Fayetteville, perhaps with the aid of the ex¬
treme western members, was too powerful to be overcome,
and the measure failed. Other bills proposed by Jones
likewise were rejected. On the other hand, Iredell, the most
active advocate of the Federal Constitution, was honored by
being elected a Councilor of State. Wills and Hodges,
who were allied with the Federal party, were made State
printers, and were directed to print the Acts of Assembly for
distribution ; and Iredell was appointed a commissioner to

STIMULATING COMMERCE

105

revise all the laws of the State. Moreover, Rowan County
was divided, and the new county set off was named Iredell
in compliment to him. While these high honors were being
heaped on Iredell, the implacable Maclaine was rejoicing
that “Jones was unable to secure the passage of a single
bill.” Still Jones exerted positive influence, and Maclaine,
fearing his return to the Assembly of 1789, wrote in Sep¬
tember: “I am persuaded we might have carried our
point last year, but for Willie Jones ; and therefore I am
anxious to know whether he is a member.” However, long
before the session ended Jones obtained leave of absence and
did not return. He soon removed from Halifax, settling
in Wake at the new seat of government, but he was never
again in the public service.

Progressive measures

Former Assemblies had sought to promote manufacturing
enterprises by offering bounties, and now an effort was
made to stimulate the erection of iron works by the offer
of three thousand acres of land for every furnace that
should be established. And in the interest of commerce
another effort was made to secure a navigable passage into
the ocean near Roanoke Inlet, and Governor Johnston,
Nathaniel Allen and others were appointed commissioners
to receive subscriptions “for cutting Raleigh Canal.” Nor
was inventive genius lacking. Thomas Bloodworth, a
brother of the politician, applied to the Assembly for a
patent for the building of mills on the principle of the
oblique wheel, doubtless now known as the turbine wheel.

The negroes of the Loyalists

In 1781 General Sumter had offered a negro taken from
the South Carolina Tories to each private soldier who should
enlist in his command. A considerable number of Caro¬
linians enlisted and shared the fortunes of the “Swamp
Fox,” and they received as compensation negroes that had

Raleigh

Canal

io6

THE SEPARATE STATE

S. R., XXIV,
954

March, 1789

S. R., XXI,
533

belonged to South Carolina Loyalists. Suits were now
threatened for the recovery of these slaves by their former
masters. The Assembly therefore directed that in every
such case a verdict and judgment should be given to the
defendants.

The claims of the State against the Confederacy were
still unsettled and amounted to 14,000,000 pounds, Con¬
tinental currency, and 2,376,000 pounds specie. To liqui¬
date such claims Congress provided a commission, and
Dr. Williamson, in addition to his duties as a delegate to
the Continental Congress, which he continued to attend to
its last day, was appointed the agent of the State to appear
before this commission and settle these claims. Although
Williamson remained in attendance and although Congress
could legislate on some subjects, yet during the entire winter
seven states were not represented at the same time, so
that he could not bring to the attention of the body the in¬
structions given by the previous Assembly.

The New Union

As the Congress of the United States was to begin on
March 4, to mark the end of the old and the beginning of
the new government, salutes were fired in New York City
at noon of that day and the bells of all the churches rang
out peals of joy. The members of the old Congress dis¬
persed ; those not elected to the new Congress going home.
Thus the Confederacy ended; and North Carolina no longer
was in the Union of the states.

The gathering of the new officers at New York was slow.
On the 4th of March only eight Senators and fourteen Rep¬
resentatives met at the public building. Indeed a month
passed before the Senate could organize, the interval being
known as the interregnum. It was not until April 6 that
the Senate organized and the electoral votes were counted.
Being informed of his election. General Washington left
Mount Vernon on April 16, and on the last day of the

AN INDEPENDENT STATE

107

month was inaugurated and the new government was in
force. Robert Burton, also one of the delegates, did not
remain in New York to the end of the Confederacy, but his
patriotism and elevated sentiments are alike manifested in a
letter to Governor Johnston : “As those men who have
fought for us in the great contest cannot be held in too
high esteem, and as Chevalier John Paul Jones is among
the foremost who derived their appointment from this State
that deserves to be held in remembrance to the latest ages,
I take the liberty of offering to the State, as a present
through you, its chief magistrate, the bust of that great
man and good soldier to perpetuate his memory.”

Out of the Union

The dissolution of the Confederacy wrought no change
in State affairs. For years North Carolina had imposed
and collected customs duties and had regulated her commerce
and her currency, and her judiciary, as her Legislature,
was supreme in the exercise of the powers conferred by her
Constitution. The powers delegated to the Continental
Congress related particularly to foreign affairs, and it was
chiefly as to these matters that the State was affected by the
passing away of the Confederacy.

During this period of separation the State exercised
every attribute of sovereignty and opened communications
with the Spanish authorities involving foreign relations.
The Treasury was in easy circumstances. The annual ex¬
penditures for administration, including £37,500 for the As¬
sembly, were bare £50,000; while the receipts in cash were
quite that amount, and an equal amount in certificates. At
the settlement with the Treasurer at the end of the year 1790,
there was in the Treasury £49,454; due from the sheriffs,
£72,000 in cash and £69,356 in certificates, besides £15,629
due from individuals; and the healthy condition of the
Treasury then led to a reduction of taxation.

1789

John Paul
Jones

S. R., XXI,
527

The

sovereign

state

Prosperity

S. R., XXI,
1066

io8

THE SEPARATE STATE

Conditions

Life of
Iredell, II,
255

Vol. I, 16

Life of
Iredell, II,
280

Ibid., 304

The people were enjoying prosperity. Accessions were
continually being made to the population. Business was
good, particularly at the east, although necessarily the
western counties suffered for the want of transportation.
While thus separated, the State was particularly prosperous,
industry reaping substantial rewards. Commerce had im¬
proved and during the fall and winter of 1788-89, more
vessels sailed out of the port of Wilmington than at any
previous time since the opening of the Revolution; lumber,
staves, shingles, etc., being in great demand for the West
Indies. Likewise the business of the other ports had greatly
increased, and foreign seamen were found in all these marts
of commerce ; so that the better to meet the requirements of
the new conditions, special maritime courts had been estab¬
lished to be held at the four ports, with jurisdiction of cases
arising in mercantile matters and where one of the parties
was a foreign merchant or a foreign seaman. The customs
duties brought in a substantial revenue ; while the taxes
laid to be paid in certificates as well as in money were amply
productive. Because of her great trade a French Consul
was . settled at Wilmington and vessels intended for the
French trade had to be cleared from that port.

Prices were remunerative. Provisions and everything
else except house rent were cheaper in New York than in
Edenton. Social life was in full sway. When “the divine
Polly Long married Bassett Stith at Halifax, the nuptials
were celebrated by twenty-two consecutive dinner parties,
each dinner being succeeded by a dance, and all terminating
with a general ball.” Newspapers were published at Fay¬
etteville, Wilmington, Edenton and Halifax. But in the
isolated interior where there were no sawmills to make
plank, nor brickkilns, and where transportation was diffi¬
cult, life was primitive. Still, the people had their enjoy¬
ments and government sat lightly on them.

There was no change in the administration of domestic
affairs. The quietude, the general advancement of all in-

AID FOR THE GENERAL TREASURY 109

terests in the settled portions of the State, and the settling
of the western portion continued to progress as legitimate
results of the prudent action of her statesmen.

To pay her obligation to the Confederacy, the State pur¬
chased tobacco with State currency, and sold the same for
specie or exchange. Thus in May, Governor Johnston of¬
fered for sale one thousand hogsheads of tobacco ; and the
Treasury Board wrote to him: “If the State of North
Carolina at this junction by the sale of this tobacco shall
come to the relief of the General Treasury, it. will be ren-
dering a service honorable to themselves and highly ac- 556
ceptable to the Union.”

At the west

At the west the hostility of the Indians inflamed by the
encroachments of the settlers and particularly by the activity
of Sevier, gave great concern. Commissions were appointed
to bring about a peace. Finally it was agreed that there
should be an exchange of prisoners, the Indians and the
whites having about an equal number of captives, some
twenty-eight on a side. But to make a treaty it was nec- ibid., 547
essary for the Indians to assemble in large numbers and it
was expensive to provide sustenance for them. Col. John
Steele, one of the commissioners wrote : “We calculate
upon 1,000 or 1,500 Indians who will attend the Cherokee
treaty, to say nothing of the whites. The estimated ex¬
pense for thirty days was 1,200 bushels of corn; 100 horned
cattle ; 50 bushels of salt ; 600 gallons of rum ; 40 soldiers,

. ’ ■ ^ Nov., 1781

linguists, etc.” It was Governor Johnston’s good fortune
so to conduct affairs as to allay irritation, induce quietude
and promote the general prosperity, so that the State made
more satisfactory progress during the period when she was
not in the Union than ever before.

1 10

THE SEPARATE STATE

1789

Life of
Iredell,
274

The canvass

As the time came on for the August elections, the rati¬
fication of the Constitution again became a burning question.
Although the Federals had achieved such a decided victory
in the Assembly, the Anti-Federals were not quiescent.
They entered actively into the canvass to prevent ratifica¬
tion. Congress was dilatory in proposing the amendments
desired by many of the states, and the antis were urging
this nonaction on the attention of the people. But to the
joy of the Federals, Madison brought forward a measure
embodying the amendments, and that argument was silenced.
As North Carolina was not a member of the Union, her
people did not vote for either Congressmen or President,
and the laws and authority of the United States did not
extend to her. In the Tariff act, passed July 31, 1789, im¬
ports of merchandise from North Carolina paid the same
duties as those from Europe, while her local productions
entered free of duty; but later, a duty was imposed on “rum,
sugar, and chocolate” produced in the State and imported
into the United States; nor were United States courts pro¬
vided for the State. The State judiciary was supreme.
The judges and other officers who preferred to be inde¬
pendent of any Federal government lent their influence
against ratification, and the public men were divided not
only on that question, but as well on a proposition to make
another issue of paper currency. There was a great com¬
motion throughout the State, for there were no party organ¬
izations ; and in addition to the Assemblymen five delegates
were to be chosen for each county. As a consequence, there
were great changes in the personnel of the membership,
a majority of the Assembly being new members. While
11, the Federals were hopeful that they had carried the Con¬
vention, yet the matter was in doubt and could not be ascer¬
tained until the body should convene. But now the current
was running strongly for the Union. In September Con-

DICKSON’S VIEWS

gress submitted the amendments to the states and there
was no doubt of their adoption. The reason for delay had
passed away. In the Convention of 1788 William Dickson
was in the opposition. Just following the second conven¬
tion he wrote : “I was convinced of the propriety as well
as the necessity of yielding up some of the privileges we
enjoy as freemen for the sake of a more permanent and
efficient government, but I believe that the State of North
Carolina would not have adopted the government of the
United States for this principle only. It was a matter of
necessity rather than choice. Virginia, though with much
reluctance, and the other states around us having previously
adopted the Federal plan, the State of North Carolina could
not remain independent of the Union and support the
dignity of the State itself. Had Virginia only stood out
with us, I think North Carolina would not have been in
of the Union yet." Such was the great reason why North
Carolina abandoned the course mapped out by Willie Jones
in 1788, and did not await the adoption of the amendments
prior to ratification.

The Federals successful

The Assembly met November 2 at Fayetteville, and or¬
ganized by electing Caswell Speaker of the Senate and Ca¬
barrus Speaker of the House, and their election indicated
that the Federals were in the ascendancy, and this was still
further assured when the Governor was reelected. Many
persons were members of both the Assembly and of the
Convention and on the 14th the Assembly adjourned during
the sitting of the Convention. On the 16th the Convention
met. There was still a violent and virulent opposition to
the Constitution, but the Federals were in control. It was
well attended, there being 272 members present. The coun¬
ties beyond the mountains were all represented and among
the delegates was John Sevier. Halifax sent a solid Fed¬
eral delegation. Governor Johnston was again chosen to

Dickson’s

letters

Nov., 1789

112

THE SEPARATE STATE

Ratification

In the
Union

preside, and as he was unwell, Charles Johnston was
elected Vice-president, the antis presenting Judge Spencer
as their choice, but he was defeated.

On November 17 the Convention resolved itself into
a committee of the whole with Col. John B. Ashe in the
chair, and four days were passed in considering the instru¬
ment. Judge Spencer, General Brown, McDowell, Kenan,
Person, Yancey, Bloodworth, Strudwick, Lenoir, Graves,
Pearsall, and Galloway were still opposed, but the Conven¬
tion by a vote of 195 to 77 determined to ratify, at the same
time adopting the twelve amendments submitted by Con¬
gress. Mr. Galloway offered some additional amendments
to be presented by the Assembly, which also were adopted.
The Convention, having by ordinance granted a member of
the House to Fayetteville as a borough town, adjourned on
November 22. North Carolina ’had been disassociated from
her sisters since the formation of the new government in
the spring, but now was again a member of the LMion.

The election of Senators and Representatives and of the
President had occurred nearly a year earlier, North Caro¬
lina having no part in the election of the first President,
nor participating in the first session of Congress.

Davie in the Assembly

In the Assembly Davie, who represented the town of
Halifax, was the leading member. He introduced many
important measures. Now that the State was to be repre¬
sented in Congress, he brought forward a bill to provide
for the election of Senators, another for the election of
five Representatives, one being allotted to the region be¬
yond the mountains, the election to be held in February.
The proposed amendments to the Constitution were at once
ratified ; and no further objection was made to the cession
of the western territory. In the act passed to convey to
the United States that territory, provision was made for
the soldiers who were entitled to grants under former

UNIVERSITY CHARTERED

laws ; and it was stipulated that Congress should not inter¬
fere with slavery there.

Tlie University

Many academies had been established in various parts of
the State, and facilities for acquiring an education were
within the reach of those who had the means to pay the
expenses ; but Davie was not content, and he developed the
idea of building up a state university. At that time the
leading institutions of learning were Harvard, Yale, Prince¬
ton, and William and Mary. Martin had often presented
the subject of education to the Assembly and Hooper, John¬
ston, Iredell, and others had been warm in their advocacy
of such measures. Davie’s proposition to establish a uni¬
versity was doubtless the subject of much personal com¬
munication and received general cooperation. In a letter to
Iredell, he mentions : “The university bill will certainly pass.”
There seems to have been no particular opposition to grant¬
ing the charter : forty of the leading men were made trus¬
tees, and that was followed by a grant of certain debts due
to the State and of all escheats. This was the first propo¬
sition for state aid to education, and one member was so
opposed to it that he filed a protest. A bill was introduced
to carry into effect the ordinance of the Convention of
1788 locating the seat of government, but again the friends
of Fayetteville were successful in opposing it, and it failed
by a single vote.

Death of Caswell

While Caswell, Martin and some others were Federals,
they formed a faction differing with Johnston, Iredell,
Davie, and Hooper ; and they generally held the popular ear.
Indeed at times they advocated measures of temporary
interest although violative of those sound policies which the
other faction adhered to with persistence. Thus in 1789,
when currency became scarce, there was a movement to
8

THE SEPARATE STATE

114

issue more notes, advocated by Person, the Blounts, and
Caswell; but Caswell’s sudden death deprived them of his
aid, and the proposition fell through. On November 10
during the session, General Caswell, then Speaker of the
Senate, died. A state funeral was accorded him, and the
Assembly went into mourning for him for one month.
Thus passed away a man who had been justly esteemed as
one of the foremost of his contemporaries. A year later,
Hooper/ in October, 1790, the State mourned the death of William
andCPenn Hooper, who was highly endowed by nature and was one
of the most cultivated of the public men of America — who,
indeed, earlier than the Revolution, had “cast his philosophic
eye to the future” and beheld a new nation in the new
world. And it was his fortune, as a signer of the Decla¬
ration of Independence, to have a chief hand in bringing
the vision into reality. About the same time Maclaine, like¬
wise a man of unusual endowments, but possessed of a bit¬
ing tongue and violent prejudices, passed away; while
earlier, in September, 1788, John Penn died at his home
on Aaron Creek in Granville County in the 48th year of his
age. He was just 35 years old when he signed the Declara¬
tion of Independence. He was born in Virginia and came
to this State when 33 years old and quickly took rank with
the other unusual men of that period. He was a lawyer,
“possessed of genius and eloquence of a high order.” In
1780 he was one of the three men appointed as a Board of
War to carry on the military operations of the State and
he performed other distinguished services until his death,
which was greatly lamented.

Tlie Great Experiment

The early Continental Congresses were composed of del¬
egates voluntarily sent by the several colonies, each colony
having a single vote; and the action taken was by “The
Delegates of the United Colonies,” who, however, could
only recommend.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

ii5

When the colonies authorized their respective delegates to
declare independence, each colony becoming an independent
state, their delegates united in a “Declaration by the Rep¬
resentatives of the United States of America in Congress
Assembled.” And after that their action was by “The
Delegates of the United States in Congress Assembled.’’

It was then proposed to unite the several states in a Con¬
federation. The proposed agreement ran :

Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the
States of New Hampshire, North Carolina, etc.

1. The style of the Confederacy shall be The United States of
America.

2. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence
and every power, jurisdiction and right which is not by this Con¬
federation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress
assembled.

3. The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of
friendship with each other, etc.

By Article 13 no alteration was to be made in the articles March, i78i
“unless confirmed by the legislatures of every state.” Each
state had to adopt this Confederation. It was not until
February 12, 1781, that Maryland adopted it and gave in¬
structions to her delegates to sign the articles. On Feb¬
ruary 22, when Washington was closing in on Cornwallis,
the delegates from Maryland appeared and took their
seats ; and March 1 was set for completing the Confed¬
eration. At 12 o'clock, Thursday, March 1, the hour ar¬
rived. The articles were in great formality signed and an¬
nounced. “This happy event,” said the Gazette, “was imme¬
diately announced by the discharge of artillery on land
and the cannon on the shipping in the Delaware.” At two
o’clock the President of Congress received the congratu¬
lations of the Minister from France, the civil and military
officers, and civilians. The evening was closed by an ele¬
gant exhibition of fireworks. The frigate Ariel, com-

. Life of

manded by the gallant lohn Paul lones, fired a feu de ioie Thomas

J J J Smith

and was beautifully decorated.” Now Congress was no (Konkie)

135j 136

longer a Congress of delegates but the Congress of the

THE SEPARATE STATE

Treaties

The dual
Government

states, and the minutes were proudly headed : “The United
States in Congress assembled.”

Treaties were entered into with foreign nations: one
in April, 1783, between “The King of Sweden, of the Goths
and Vandals, etc., and the thirteen United States of North
America; to wit: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North
Carolina,” etc., naming each of the thirteen. The other
treaties were similar.

Great Britain, in her Treaty of Peace, in 1783, said:
“Art. 1. His Britannic Majesty, acknowledging the said
United States, viz: New Hampshire, etc., North Carolina,
etc., (naming each) to be free, sovereign and independent
states . . . that he treats with them as such,” etc.

The Constitution proposed in 1787 closely followed the
Articles of Confederation in many respects. It was to go
into operation “between the states.” It was to be amended
only by the states ; but it could be amended by three-fourths
of the states. Each state had its equal representation in the
Senate ; and each state had its agreed number of represent¬
atives, and the President was to be elected by the states,
each state appointing its agreed number of electors; and if
no election then each state having a single vote. And
“treason against the United States shall consist only in
levying war against them.”

But while the Union remained a confederation of the
states, it was something more. The powers of government
were divided into two parts, those relating to certain speci¬
fied objects and purposes being vested in the Congress, all
others remaining with the several states respectively. Powers
of government could be conferred on Congress only by the
people of a definite number of states. The government
established thus became a part of the government of each
state ; and there was created a confederated union of
states, not, however, a union of the people — so that there
was no single political entity known as a nation created.

SOVEREIGN POWERS OF STATES

ii 7

Indeed so foreign to each other do the states remain that
the Constitution imposes the particular duty on the United
States “to protect each state from invasion” ; otherwise,
apparently, a state might be invaded and conquered and the
United States have no duty in the matter.

As heretofore said, in the original draft the word “Na¬
tional” was used, but later it was carefully eliminated, the
purpose not being to form a nation of people but a union
of states ; and furthermore, when it was proposed in the Con¬
vention to confer on Congress the right to make a state
observe the Constitution, the proposition was at once
rejected.

As originally drafted and adopted the Constitution began:
“We, the people of New Hampshire,” etc., “North Caro¬
lina,” etc., (naming each of the thirteen states), “do ordain
and establish,” etc., but when the instrument was com¬
mitted to the committee on style, it being evident that the
language was inappropriate, since the Constitution was to
go into effect between the first nine states that ratified it and
there was no telling which states they would be, nor indeed
that every state would eventually ratify it, the present form
was adopted : “We, the people of the United States” that
being the designation of the Confederacy, and in the plural,
not singular, and it meaning — We, the people of the ratify¬
ing states now united. As North Carolina and Rhode Island
did not ratify at first, the necessity of the change in lan¬
guage is apparent.

The sovereign power of establishing government and of
changing its government was not relinquished by any state,
and on the other hand Virginia, New York and Rhode
Island, each, when ratifying the Constitution, expressly as¬
serted its right to exercise that sovereign power.

Elliott’s

Debates

THE SEPARATE STATE

The dual government thus formed when the people of
the states, continuing their own state government, created
this new government of specified but supreme power, by
Congress, was a novelty; and it was called “The Great
Experiment," and for a time it was not known how soon it
would fall to pieces. But it has worked well when observed,
and it has been considered the masterpiece of human
wisdom.

CHAPTER VIII

In the Union

The Federalists rejoice. — Congress extends laws. — Stokes ap¬
pointed Judge, succeeded by Sitgreaves. — Representatives elected.
— Abolition petitions. — The Senators execute conveyance of Ten¬
nessee. — Divergences *in Congress. — State debts. — The trade. —
Clash between the State and Federal courts. — The judiciary
system altered. — The General Assembly. — The Assembly rejects
oath to support Federal Constitution. — Dissatisfaction with Sena¬
tors. — Another post route desired. — Proposition to fix Capital lost.
— Martin again Governor. — Spruce McCay Judge. — Jones Solicitor-
General. — The Dismal Swamp Canal chartered. — Grove and Macon
elected Representatives. — The census gives the State ten mem¬
bers. — The population. — Powers by implication. — The settlement
of Buncombe. — Asheville. — Washington’s visit. — His notes of
travel. — Goes through East, returns through West.

The vexed question of joining the Union being settled,
the Federalists were full of rejoicing and looked with hope
to the future ; but still there were many of the inhabitants
who were in doubt, and some were discontented.

Congress quickly took up the matter of regulating com¬
merce in North Carolina and extended the tariff laws, but
some months elapsed before it established the Federal
courts in the State. It was supposed that Iredell would be
offered the district judgeship for North Carolina; but
there being a vacancy in the Supreme Court, the President
appointed him to that high position. Later, Davie was
offered the appointment of district judge which he de¬
clined; and Col. John Stokes was appointed. Judge Stokes,
however, died in October, and Sitgreaves succeeded to the
office. William H. Hill of New Hanover was the first
district attorney.

All during the year there was excitement in the State
over the action of Congress and much dissatisfaction, and
although the issue which had divided the parties in the
State had disappeared on the acceptance of the Constitu¬
tion, yet the difference between the leaders and among the
people remained.

120

IN THE UNION

The election of Representatives, which took place early in
February, resulted in favor of candidates who adhered to the
Federal party, except in the Cape Fear district where
Timothy Bloodworth was chosen ; the other Representatives
were Hugh Williamson, John B. Ashe and John Steele of
Rowan, and Sevier from across the mountains.

Tennessee ceded

The Legislature on December 22, 1789, had passed a bill
ceding the western territory to the United States. At that
period there was an active society for the abolition of
slavery and at the outset petitions had been offered to Con¬
gress to abolish slavery in the states; North Carolina there¬
fore inserted in her cession a provision that “no regulation
made or to be made by Congress shall tend to emancipate
slaves/' There was also a reservation of the right to locate
military grants in a portion of the territory set apart for
that purpose.

Governor Johnston and Senator Hawkins set out in Jan-
The Senators uary for New York. The 'former, arriving on the 28th,
wrote : “My nerves have not yet recovered the shock of the
wagon, though I came through in very good health, and
less fatigued than I expected after from Baltimore to this
place in less than four days. The roads were very bad
and we rode much at nig'ht. Once it was near 12 at night
before we arrived at our inn.” The coaches were merely
large wagons, the high sides and canopies supported bv
upright beams.

On February 25, 1790, the two Senators from North Car¬
olina made a deed of the western territory to Congress
reciting the above provisions, and on April 2, 1790, Con¬
gress accepted the deed and cession. Then the State became
relieved of further embarrassment because of the western
territory, which afterwards became known as Tennessee.

LOG ROLLING POLITICS

121

Iii Congress

Almost all the members of Congress belonged to the
Federal party ; but the issue of ratification having passed
away, divisions now arose on measures proposed in the
Congress. There were divergences that naturally sprang
up between New England and Virginia, between the North
and the South. Washington, endowed with great natural
sagacity, sought to nationalize his administration ; and among
the propositions brought forward was that of Hamilton
to restore public credit by securing all public indebtedness ;
not only was the Continental debt to be funded, but the
State debts were to be assumed. Anticipating the adop¬
tion of this program, the speculators hastened to buy at
low prices all certificates, both Continental and State.
Early in March the proposition passed the House by a ma¬
jority of five; but there was a motion to reconsider, and
the arrival of the North Carolina members was looked for
with great interest. Senator Johnston was strongly op¬
posed, and on April 6 he was able to write that Williamson,
who had arrived, agreed perfectly with him, and had taken
a conspicuous part in the debate. Then the others came,
and by their votes the measure was defeated by two ma¬
jority. Smarting under their defeat, the New England
members became very sore and impatient. Their dissat¬
isfaction was extreme. Finally, Jefferson arranged with
Hamilton and Madison that two Virginia members should
vote for “assumption” in consideration of the location of
the Federal Capital on the Potomac. That trade was con¬
summated, and the state debts were assumed.

As reasonable as was this measure in theory, it was un¬
equal in its operation ; and most of the certificates had been
purchased by speculators, who reaped rich profit. It caused
great dissatisfaction in North Carolina, which was largely
increased by subsequent events.

1790

The factions

The trade

122

IN THE UNION

Judicial con¬
flict

November,

1790

New judicial
system

The Assembly

One of the chief objects the lawyers had in view at the
last Assembly was to remodel the court system. Defeated
at that time, they hoped for success at the approaching ses¬
sion. The Assembly organized on the first day of No¬
vember at Fayetteville, with Gen. William Lenoir Speaker
of the Senate and Stephen Cabarrus Speaker of the House.
Governor Martin in his message urged a reform in the
judiciary system, indicating the necessity for an additional
judge; he also directed attention to the desirability of an¬
other post route, the only one being confined to the sea¬
board towns.

Just prior to the meeting of the Assembly there was the
first clash between the State and the Federal judiciary.
A suit had been brought by some British subjects against
Judge Iredell and Mr. Collins as executors of R. Smith.
A certiorari was issued from the Federal Circuit Court
by direction of Judges Wilson, Blair and Rutledge to the
judges of the State Superior Court to bring the suit up to
the Federal court. The North Carolina court declined to
obey and on November 19 presented an account of the
matter to the Assembly with a statement of their reasons
for declining to obey the writ. The Assembly approved
their action, although there was a protest against its de¬
cision. That ended the matter.

It was at the instance of the judges rather than of the dis¬
satisfied lawyers that the court law was amended, and an¬
other judge was provided for. The State was thereupon
divided into two circuits ; four districts at the west constitut¬
ing one, and those of Halifax, Edenton, and Wilmington the
other. Two judges were to attend each court, but such
changes were to be made that the same two judges should
not hold the same court successively. It was the duty of
the Attorney-General to attend each court, but under this
new arrangement it became necessary to have an additional

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

123

attorney to act for the State, and provision was made for a
Solicitor-General who should have equal authority with
the Attorney-General. It was directed that these two
officers should arrange the legal business in such manner
as would be most convenient for them.

The labors of the judges were lessened by giving ex¬
clusive jurisdiction to the county courts of all indictments
for assaults, batteries and petty larcenies and for actions
of slander. There was a further enactment that no process
or judgment in any civil cause should be arrested or
quashed for any defect or want of form ; and the courts
were empowered to amend all defects at any time upon such
conditions as they might impose.

As Tennessee was cut off, it now became necessary to
provide for an election of five Representatives from the
State for the next Congress, and the counties were ar¬
ranged into “the Albemarle, the Roanoke, the Center, the
Yadkin, and the Cape Fear divisions.” From Mecklenburg
to the Virginia line formed the Yadkin division; the dis¬
trict of Ffillsboro together with the counties of Franklin and
Warren formed the Center division. The election was or¬
dered for the last Thursday in January.

In the Assembly there was much irritation displayed in
reference to Federal affairs. The judges were applauded
for their action in the certiorari matter.

The proposition to require the State officers and members
of the Assembly to take an oath to support the Constitution
of the United States was rejected by a vote of 55 to 26.
And an act was passed disqualifying all persons who should
hold an office under the authority of the United States from
holding any office of the State. And it was particularly de¬
clared that Senators and Representatives should be consid¬
ered as coming within the meaning and purview of the act,
and they were made ineligible to State appointments.

Resolutions were considered in committee of the whole
about the propriety of giving, instructions to Senators John-

The districts

S. R., XXI,
21

Instructions

124

IN THE UNION

ston and Hawkins, whose conduct was displeasing to the
Assembly. More resentment seems to have been felt to¬
wards Hawkins than Governor Johnston. Neither Senator
attended the Assembly, while under the Confederation the
delegates either attended or wrote giving an account of the
action Congress had taken. Steele and Williamson appear
1655 ’ to have been present at the session, and Williamson brought

forward some project to defeat the Assumption Act; that,
however, miscarried. The resolutions adopted contained
a protest against the assumption of the debts of the several
states, and a declaration that the Senators and Representa¬
tives should request the advice of the Assembly to prevent
injuries that might arise to the State of North Carolina.
In their resolutions they referred to the confidence they had
in the integrity and industry of the Senators, but expressed
their disappointment at their action.

The Senators were directed to use unremitting exertions
to abolish secret sessions, to correspond regularly and con¬
stantly with the Legislature and the Governor, and to have
the journals printed and transmitted at least once a month.
They were to use their utmost endeavors to effect economy
and to decrease the monstrous salaries of public officers,
who ought not to be enriched with the bounty of regal
ibid., 962 splendor, and they should strenuously oppose every excise
and direct taxation law. Also they were required to en¬
deavor to have another post route established through the
State, and another Federal court held in the State.

Governor Martin as president of the Board of Trustees of
the University presented a memorial urging a loan to that
institution for the purpose of erecting needed buildings.
Such a proposition was offered, but it was resolved that the
bill lie over till the next Assembly. Then on motion of
General Person the bill was directed to be printed together
with the yea and nay vote for the delay, and annexed to the
laws and also published in the Gazette so that the people
could better consider it.

INTERSTATE WATERWAY

125

Again the proposition to give effect to the ordinance of ^

the Convention fixing the seat of government failed. In the
House it passed by the casting vote of the Speaker, but
in the Senate it failed by the deciding vote of Speaker
Lenoir.

The Assembly once more manifested its full confidence
in Governor Martin by reelecting him to the executive
chair. Judge McCay was elected the additional judge;
and Edward Jones, a man of unusual attainments, Solicitor-
General.

The Dismal Swamp Canal

In December, 1786, at a meeting in Fayetteville of the
commissioners appointed by the states' of Virginia and
North Carolina terms were agreed on for a compact be¬
tween the states making free to both states the waters of
the Roanoke, Chowan, etc., to the mouth of the Pasquotank,
and the Chesapeake Bay to the capes, Hampton Roads, etc.,
with no duties on imports and exports, preliminary to the
construction of a proposed Dismal Swamp Canal.' This
commission dealt with some of the matters that led to Vir¬
ginia's proposition for a revision of the Articles of Con¬
federation, and now after four years a company to construct
the proposed canal was chartered. Its capital was to be
eighty thousand dollars, 320 shares of $250 each. The
canal was to be cut from Deep Creek in Virginia to the

r Acts 1790,

Pasquotank River, to be 32 feet wide, 8 feet deep, and it ch. 26,
was to be supplied with water from Drummond Lake. The Revisai, 500
compact between the states with regard to it was made
unalterable and not subject to repeal without the consent
of Virginia.

Grove and Macon in Congress

At the Congressional election, Bloodworth, an anti, was
defeated bv William Barry Grove, a nephew of Mr. Hay

126

IN THE UNION

The census

1791

and a man of parts, and Nathaniel Macon was elected in
the Warren District. While Macon disavowed belonging
to any party, he had been associated with the antis and in
the Congress he was a Southerner and cooperated with
those who later classed themselves as Republicans in op¬
position to the clique who were charged with hoping for a
monarchy and strong government.

While the census was to be taken in 1790, apparently,
the enumeration was not concluded in North Carolina until
in January, 1791. It was taken by deputy marshals, but
their duties were imperfectly performed so that the result
was not entirely reliable. However, it was found that
North Carolina had so many more inhabitants than mem¬
bers of the Constitutional Convention had thought that her
representation in Congress was increased from five to ten;
and later, ten districts were laid off. The population in the
State was stated as being, whites 288,204; free blacks,
4,975; slaves 100,572; while that of Tennessee was 32,013;
361 ; and 3,417. Of all the states Massachusetts alone re¬
ported no slaves. In Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina
and Georgia, the whites were only twice as numerous as
the slaves; but in North Carolina there were nearly three
whites to one slave ; and in the western half of the State
the number of slaves was relatively small, there being
70,000 in the eastern counties and only 30,000 at the west,
where the whites were more numerous.

The attitude of the Assembly towards the delegation in
Congress was not without its effect. There was no further
cause of complaint that members were silent or inattentive.
Letter's came pouring in and the changes were rung on
the assumption of state debts, funding the national debt,
and the excise tax, subjects of particular interest to the
people of the State; and when in July, 1791, it was pro-
proposed to establish a national bank, the fundamental
structure of the new government which had previously been
so intently considered was again examined. It was urged

BUNCOMBE AND ASHEVILLE

127

that if powers by implication were allowed, any power could
be implied, and thus almost at the beginning, public men
differed on powers by implication.

The settlement of Buncombe

Settlers had early pushed far to the west across the
mountains into Tennessee at the north, but the Cherokees
held the mountain country at the south. It was not until
about 1781 that settlers around Old Fort began to cross the
mountains into the Swannanoa Valley. Among the first
was Samuel Davidson and his family, including one negro
woman slave. The Indians killed him, but the Davidsons,
Smiths, Alexanders and Edmundsons persisted. Ruther¬
ford County and Burke embraced the territory, but in 1791
the county of Buncombe was incorporated by the Assembly,
so named in honor of Col. Edward Buncombe, born in St.
Kits, a resident of that part of Tyrrell County now in
Washington County, a distinguished patriot during the
Revolution, who was killed at the battle of Germantown.
The county seat was fixed at Morristown, a site laid off
by John Burton on his land, but in 1795 the residents began
to call it Asheville, in honor of the then Governor — a leading
Anti-Federalist. Its climate and situation and the pro¬
gressive spirit of its citizens have given it a fame that makes
it one of the best known localities of the South.

The State as Washington saw it

The President had in the autumn of 1790 made a tour of
the North and in the spring of 1791 he visited the Southern
States. Leaving Mount Vernon April 7, he reached there
on his return the 13th of June. While some few persons
were aware that General Washington proposed to make this
tour of the South, the date and his movements were not
generally known. Efe traveled in his own carriage and
without ostentation and expected to find entertainment at
taverns along the road. It was not his wish to be enter-

128

IN THE UNION

1791

Trade at
Halifax

Washington’s

diary

Tarboro

tained or to be accompanied by troops of horsemen. While
here and there, there were those who were at variance with
the General because of his advocacy of the new government,
the common feeling must have been one of gladness at his
presence in the State.

Halifax was the first town he came to in North Carolina,
he reaching there about six o’clock on the evening of Sat¬
urday, April 16. “To this place vessels, by the aid of oars
and setting poles, are brought for the produce which comes
to this place and others along the river, and may be carried
eight or ten miles higher up to the falls which are neither
great nor of much extent. The town seems to be in a de¬
cline and does not, it is said, contain a thousand souls.
Colonel Ashe, the Representative of the district, and several
other gentlemen, called upon and invited me to partake of
a dinner which the inhabitants were desirous of seeing me
at, and, accepting it, dined with them accordingly.” The
next night he spent at Tarboro. “This place is less than
Halifax, but more lively and thriving. Crossed the Tar
on a bridge of a great height from the water. Corn, pork
and some tar are the exports from it. We were received at
this place by as good a salute as could be given by one piece
of artillery. ... At 6 o’clock I left Tarboro accom¬
panied by some of the most respectable' people of the place
for a few miles. Greenville is on the Tar River, and the
exports the same as from Tarboro, with a greater propor¬
tion of tar. This article is rolled as tobacco by an axis
which goes through both heads — one horse draws two
barrels in this manner.” At Greenville a small party of
horse under Colonel Simpson joined the General, and al¬
though he sought to keep them from accompanying him,,
for he did not desire to be so attended, they kept with him
to New Bern. At the ferry over the Neuse, ten miles from
New Bern, “we were met by a small party of horse, the
district judge, Judge Sitgreaves, and many of the
principal inhabitants, who conducted us into town to ex-

New Bern

WASHINGTON’S NOTES OF TRAVEL

129

ceedingly good lodgings. . . . Vessels drawing more

than nine feet can get up loaded. . . . The buildings

are sparse and all of them of wood — some of which are
large and look well. . . . The number of souls is about 2,000.
The exports consist of corn, tobacco, pork, but principally of
naval stores and lumber.” The next day “dined with the
citizens at a public dinner given by them and went to a
dancing assembly in the evening, both of which were at
what they call the palace; a good brick building, but now
hastening to ruins. . . . The company at both was

numerous, at the latter there were about seventy ladies.”
While at New Bern he wrote: “Upon the river Neuse and
80 miles above New Bern, the Convention of the State made
choice of a spot, or rather district, within which to fix the
seat of government; but it being lower than the back mem¬
bers of the Assembly, who hitherto have been most numer¬
ous, inclined to have it, they have found means to obstruct
it ; but since the cession of the western territory it is sup¬
posed that the matter will be revived to good effect.” On
Friday, 22d, he left New Bern under an escort of horse and
many of the principal inhabitants, went through Trenton.
On Saturday he made 44 miles and then, after proceeding
sixteen miles on Sunday morning, he was met by a party of
light-horse from Wilmington and, later, by a committee
and other gentlemen of the town. When he arrived at two
o’clock, they fired a Federal salute, and escorted him to very
good lodgings and then he dined with the committee at
their invitation. The road from New Bern to Wilmington
“passes through the most barren country I ever saw.” Wil¬
mington “has some good houses, pretty compactly built, the
whole under a hill, which is formed entirely of sand. . . .

The number of souls by the enumeration is about 1,000,” but
he mentioned that the census was badly taken. “Wilming¬
ton has a mud bank over which not more than ten feet of
water can be brought at common tides, yet vessels of 250
tons are said to have come up. Shipping annually about

Wilmington

IN THE UNION

r3°

1,200 tons. Exports chiefly naval stores and lumber, some
tobacco, corn, rice, flax seeds with pork. Inland navigation
to Fayetteville. . . . Fayetteville is a thriving place, 6,000
hogsheads of tobacco, 3,000 of flax seed. Monday dined
with the citizens of the place at a public dinner given by
them ; went to a ball in the evening at which there were
62 ladies, illuminations, bonfires,” etc. A letter written by
Mrs. Simpson, April 25 : “Great doings this day, General
Washington arrived yesterday. The light-horse went to
meet him. The artillery were ready to receive him with a
round from the batteries, four guns. This day he dines
with the gentlemen of the town ; in the evening a grand ball
and illuminations ; tomorrow takes his leave. Half-past

Cape Fear, lour ; just going to dinner; cannon firing. Cherry and

20S ,

children all gone to see the procession. I must get the can¬
dles. Mrs. Quince has given up her house to the General,
and she stays with our uncles.”

The President left the next morning “accompanied by
most of the gentlemen of the town” and about noon next
day he crossed the line into South Carolina.

On return — Charlotte

The General on May 27 struck the North Carolina line
south of Charlotte about five o’clock in the morning and
reached Charlotte before three o’clock. “On entering the
State of North Carolina, I was met by a party of Mecklen¬
burg horse, but these being near their homes I dismissed
them. . . . Dined with General Polk and a small party in¬
vited by him, at a table prepared for the purpose.” Charlotte
was then a very small village, “though the court of Mecklen¬
burg is held in it. There is a school called a college in it at
which at times there has been 50 or 60 boys. . . . Feft

Charlotte Sunday morning,” and the next day he was met
by a party of horse of Rowan County that had come from
Salisbury to escort him — and when five miles from Salis¬
bury was met by the Mayor and the Corporation, Judge

TOWNS IN THE MAKING 131

McCay and many others. “The lands between Charlotte
and Salisbury are very fine and the first meadows I have
seen since I left Virginia ; and here also we appear to be
getting into a wheat country. . . . Dined at a public

dinner given by the citizens of Salisbury and in the after¬
noon drank tea at the same place with about twenty ladies.

“Salisbury is but a small place, although it is the county
town, and the district court is held in it. There are about
300 souls in it and tradesmen of different kinds. . . .

May 31 — Left Salisbury and about four o’clock arrived at
Salem, one of the Moravian towns, about miles from

. . Salem

Salisbury. . . . Salem is a small but neat village, and

like all the rest of the Moravian settlements is governed by
an excellent police, having within itself all kinds of artisans.

The number of souls does not exceed 200.” June 1 he
passed at Salem. “Spent the forenoon in visiting the shops
of the different tradesmen, the houses of accommodation for
the single men and sisters of the Fraternity, and their place
of worship. Invited six of the principal people to dine with
me, and in the evening went to hear them sing, perform on
a variety of instruments — church music.” There he was
joined by Governor Alexander Martin. The next day, ac¬
companied by Governor Martin, he dined at Guilford where
there was a considerable gathering of people. “On my way,

• I examined the ground on which the action between Gen¬
eral Greene and Lord Cornwallis commenced, and after
dinner rode over that where the lines were formed and the
score closed in the retreat of the American forces. The
first line of which was advantageously drawn up, and had
the troops done their duty properly the British 'must have
been <?orely galled in ye advance, if not defeated. The lands
between Salem and Guilford are in places very fine. On
my approach to this place I was met by a party of light-
horse which I prevailed on the Governor to dismiss, and
to countermand his orders for others to attend me through ^|J.lcsentl
the State. ... In conversing with the Governor on the

l32

IN THE UNION

1791

state of politics in North Carolina, I learned with pleasure
that the opposition to the general government and the dis¬
content of the people were subsiding fast, and that he
should, as soon as he received the laws which he had written
to the Secretary of State for, issue his proclamation re¬
quiring all officers and members of the government to take
leave of the Governor, whose intention was to attend me
the oath prescribed by law. . . . Friday 3. Took my
to the line, but for my request that he would not. Having
this day passed the line of North Carolina and, of course,
finished my tour through the three southernmost states, a
general description of them may be comprised in the follow¬
ing few words: From the seaboard to the falls of all the
rivers which water the lands, except the swamps on the
rivers and the lesser streams which empty into them, and
the internal land higher up the rivers, is with but few ex¬
ceptions, neither more nor less than a continued pine bar¬
ren, very thinly inhabited. The next part, the seaboard for
many miles is dead level and badly watered. That above
it is hilly and not much better than barren.”

Conditions

He mentioned as being cultivated in South Carolina, rice,
corn, sweet potatoes and in the up-country — tobacco, corn,
hemp and some smaller grain, and the same in North Caro- *
lina, “except instead of rice, corn, some indigo, with
naval stores and pork, but as indigo is on the decline, hemp
and cotton are grown in its place. The prices of land in
the lower part of the State are very great, those improved
from 20 to" 30 pounds sterling and from 10 to 15 pounds in
its rude state. The lands of the upper counties sell' from
four to six or seven dollars. In the upper parts of North
Carolina wheat is pretty much grown, and the farmers seem
disposed to try hemp ; but the land carriage is a considerable
drawback having between 200 and 300 miles to carry the
produce either to Charleston, Petersburg or Wilmington.

MEANS FOR LIVING WELL

133

Excepting the towns and some gentlemen's seats on the
whole road I traveled from Petersburg to this place, there
is not a single house which has anything of elegant appear¬
ance. They are altogether of wood and chiefly of logs,
some indeed have brick chimneys, but generally the chim¬
neys are split sticks, filled with dirt between them. . .

The people, however, appear to have abundant means to
live well, the grounds where they are settled yielding grain
in abundance. The manners of the people, as far as my
observation and means of information extended, were or¬
derly and civil, and they appeared to be happy, contented
and satisfied with the general government, under which
they were placed. Where the case was different, it was
not difficult to trace the cause to some demagogue or
speculating character.”

1791

CHAPTER IX

The New Capital

•

The Assembly November, 1791. — The Assembly takes the oath
to support Federal Constitution. — Commission appointed to lo¬
cate the capital. — Ten thousand dollars lent to University. — Po¬
litical fears. — Washington assents to reelection. — Commissioners
meet to locate capital. — Lane conveys 1,000 acres near Wake
Courthouse. — The City of Raleigh. — Trustees locate the Univer¬
sity. — Committee to erect buildings for fifty students. — The new
districts change all Representatives but Grove and Macon. —
Spaight Governor. — Martin replaces Johnston in Senate. — Mat¬
ters of concern. — Indians, England, France. — Genet. — The French
privateers. — At Wilmington. — Eli Whitney invents the cotton
gin. — Cotton and tobacco. — Haywood Judge. — Spencer’s death. —
New Assembly. — The palace sold. — Hatteras lighthouse. — Fort
at Smithville — Importance of Ocracoke. — The University. —
A principal to be chosen. — Rev. David Kerr taken. — Hinton
James the first pupil. — The State press. — Divergences. — Chis¬
holm v. Georgia. — The opinions of the judges. — Iredell’s princi¬
ples. — The Constitutional Amendment. — States’ rights in issue. —
The Republicans elect all Representatives but Grove. — In De¬
cember, 1794, the Assembly meets in the new State House. — No
town at Raleigh; few houses. — Bloodworth Speaker of House
and U. S. Senator. — Importation of slaves prohibited except serv¬
ants accompanying their owner. — Other legislation as to negroes.
— County fairs provided for. — Organization of the Protestant
Episcopal Church. — Rev. Charles Pettigrew chosen Bishop but
never consecrated. — Jay’s Treaty. — Republicans strengthened.

The oath of allegiance

When the session of the Legislature opened at New
Bern on December 5, 1791, the members made no change
either in the Governor or the speakers. But now having
received copies of the Acts of Congress, there was early-
passed “an act for altering the oath of allegiance to the
State," by which “every person elected to any public office
shall talce an oath that he will be faithful and bear true
allegiance to the State of North Carolina and to the con¬
stitutional powers and authorities which are or may be es¬
tablished for the government thereof, and that he will en¬
deavor to support, maintain and defend the Constitution of

CAPITAL AND UNIVERSITY

135

said State, not inconsistent with the Constitution of the
United States, and that members of the Assembly shall
take said oath, and also an oath to support the Constitution
of the United States.” And the members afterwards took
that oath.

To locate the capital

Under the treaty with Great Britain, provision had been
made to secure the rights of British subjects in confiscated
property; and the Assembly as a remedy against hardship
agreed to reimburse those who had purchased confiscated
lands and could not hold them. And now that the territory
beyond the mountains had no voice, and Fayetteville’s in¬
fluence was not so strong, the Assembly appointed ten com¬
missioners, one for each congressional district, to carry
into effect the ordinance to locate the Capital and lay off
a plan for a city in Wake County. Similarly, the Assembly
took a forward step in regard to the University. The
board needed more funds before beginning earnest work,
the provision theretofore made being inadequate. Again
Davie was successful. His eloquent appeal to the Assembly
was long remembered. Ten thousand dollars was lent from
the Treasury, by a vote of 57 to 53 in the House, and 28 to
21 in the Senate. Of those who voted for it in the House,
Bloodworth should be mentioned, and in the Senate, Lane
of Wake and General Person.

The presidential election

In the year 1792 there was to be a presidential election.
The divergences among the public men were so sharp that
Jefferson wrote to General Washington urging him to allow
himself to be reelected. He emphasized that “a squadron”
having the deciding voice in Congress had the design to
get rid of the limitations of the Constitution with the ulti¬
mate object of changing the republican form of government

Acts 1791,
ch. 11,
Martin’s
Revisal, II,
12

Davie pro¬
motes the
University

1792

136

THE NEW CAPITAL

Jefferson’s
Works, IV,
362

The Capital
located

The

University

to that of a monarchy modeled after the British Constitu¬
tion. For himself he declared : “I can scarcely contemplate
a more incalculable evil than the breaking of the Union
into two or more parts.” He pointed out that that might
happen and he therefore urged Washington to accept a re-
election as he could prevent the people from being led “into
secession.” Such apprehensions were rife for “the Great Ex¬
periment” was still in the experimental stage, and the people
had fears of the future. Fortunately Washington assented,
and at the election the Republicans gained a strong ascend¬
ancy in Congress, so that thoughts of a monarchy, if enter¬
tained, were abandoned. It was in the midst of these political
movements that the commissioners met about the last of
March to locate the capital. Only six attended. They se¬
lected an eligible location near Wake Courthouse and a
deed was executed by Joel Lane, conveying to Governor
Martin 1,000 acres, near the center of which was a hill that
was chosen as the site for the Capitol building. A plan of
the city was at once laid off, with five large public squares
reserved, the central one, called Union Square, was for the
Capitol; and the others were named Caswell, Moore, Nash
and Burke, and acre lots were sold off at public auction.
When, later, the report of the proceedings was made to the
Assembly it was confirmed, and by the act of the Assembly
the town was named “The City of Raleigh.”

In like manner, the Trustees of the L^niversity met at
Hillsboro, 25 out of the 40, on the 1st of August, and
agreed that the location should be within a circle of fifteen
miles from Cyprett’s bridge, on the main road from New
Bern to Pittsboro, and pursuant thereto a committee met
at Pittsboro on November 1, and on November 6 selected a
hill known as New Hope Chapel Hill, where a chapel had
been erected in former times, at the crossing of the great
roads north and south, east and west. The owners of
much land near by offered a considerable quantity of land
if that site should be selected. The commissioners made

SEVERE BLOW TO FEDERALISTS

137

their report to a committee consisting of Davie, McCorkle,
Jones, Ashe and Sitgreaves and their action was approved
and ratified ; and a building committee was appointed to lay
out a town, sell lots and erect buildings to accommodate
fifty students.

At the election for Representatives in Congress, it was
found that in making the districts the counties had been so
arranged that disaster befell Williamson and Ashe and
Steele. Of the former representatives only Grove and
Macon were retained. In the presidential election, North
Carolina, like Virginia, gave her electoral votes to Washing¬
ton and to Clinton of New York, the latter being a states’
rights advocate.

The Assembly

In November, 1792, the Assembly met at .New Bern.
The same speakers were reelected and the full constitu¬
tional period that Governor Martin could serve being com¬
pleted, Richard Dobbs Spaight was chosen Governor, his
term beginning December 14, 1792; and Martin was elected
Senator in Congress in the place of Sam Johnston. This
was a severe blow to the Federalists for Johnston was at
the head of that party in the State and had long been the
commanding figure in political action, while in the Senate
he had taken rank with the foremost of the Senators.
Martin was not equal to him in solidity of character and
attainments, but he was of such superior excellence that his
appointment was likewise highly creditable to the State,
and altogether he had served six years as Governor of the
commonwealth.

And now Spruce McCay was added to the Superior Court.

The new Governor, Spaight, had been educated at the
University of Glasgow and was entitled to high considera¬
tion because of his talents and accomplishments. He was
the first native of the State to be chosen Governor. The
early months of his term brought new matters to public at-

The election

1792

Spaight,

Governor

138

'THE NEW CAPITAL

Genet’s

action

Privateers

The cotton
gin

tention. An Indian war threatened, and preparations
were made at the west for rendering aid to Georgia. More¬
over, foreign matters brought concern. Naturally, popular
feeling was with France, now a republic, in her struggle
against monarchical Europe, while the British government
had aroused patriotic hostility. In April Citizen Genet ar¬
rived at Charleston and was warmly received. Instead
of passing on to the seat of government at Philadelphia
and presenting his credentials to President Washington,
he began to fit out privateers. Washington proclaimed
neutrality; but Genet ignored Washington and relied on
popular support. Genet purchased vessels and armed them
and sent them out to prey on British commerce. At Wil¬
mington, the Hector was purchased to be delivered June i
on the high seas. She sailed from Charleston a few days
later with her armament in her hold and, entering George¬
town, was fully equipped as a privateer, her name being

changed to the Vanquer de Bastile. Sallying out, she fell
in with an English merchant vessel which she captured
and brought into Wilmington as a prize. At once Gov¬
ernor Spaight ordered Colonel Campbell of the New Han¬
over militia and Colonel Smith of the Brunswick militia,
to call out their militia and seize both the Hector and the
prize and hold them, and orders enforcing vigilance were
given to the colonels of the seaboard counties. Similarly,
other French privateers were fitted out at Charleston, and
even at Philadelphia. The people were now divided in
their sympathies. Eventually Genet was recalled, but while
a successor was substituted, he himself preferred to re¬
main in America, where he resided the rest of his life.

It was during this period of trouble that a very important
invention was made by Eli Whitney, a native of Massa¬
chusetts, who had for some years been employed near Savan¬
nah. The drift away from slavery had perhaps been strength¬
ened by the French Revolution and its motto of fraternity
and equality, emphasizing the brotherhood of man. The

EXPORT OF COTTON BEGINS

139

Southern States were now prohibiting the introduction of
negroes from abroad. But when this invention of Whit¬
ney’s, the cotton gin, by which the seed of cotton were
readily separated from the lint, was perfected, the possi¬
bilities of cotton culture became realized. In 179° no C°L
ton was exported from the United States. Up to then
patches of cotton were grown chiefly for local use. But
on the introduction of the cotton gin, exportations began;
at first, in 1794, only a million and a half pounds; the next
year, five millions ; and slave labor at the far South became
remunerative. The world needed cotton for clothing, and
the South supplied it. Tobacco had already played a great
role in American commerce, and now cotton was to be¬
come its twin southern sister.

State affairs

On the 24th of June, 1793, John Haywood was com¬
missioned a judge of the Superior Court, perhaps because of
the inability of Judge Spencer to attend the courts ; and
the next year, on Spencer’s death, Haywood permanently
replaced him. Judge Haywood was considered one of the
greatest criminal lawyers of his generation.

The Assembly met at Fayetteville in November. Its tone
was unchanged ; Spaight was reelected Governor. Lenoir
and Leigh were the speakers. Among the acts passed was
one allowing slaves in certain cases to have a jury trial,
and another to sell the palace at New Bern. That last
vestige of Royal rule was thus disposed of. A second ses¬
sion of the same Assembly was held in July, 1794, at New
Bern, at which the title to four acres of land was vested
in the United States at Hatteras for the purpose of con¬
structing a lighthouse there ; and land was ceded at Smith-
ville for a fort, and subsequently the United States took
possession. However, the State had previously had a light¬
house at Ocracoke ; and it was claimed that two-thirds of the
commerce of the State passed through Ocracoke. This was

1793

Cotton

1793

The palace
sold

140

THE NEW CAPITAL

The

University

1794

Battle: Hist.
Univ., 65

the last of the perambulatory legislatures. The Capitol build¬
ing at Raleigh had now been sufficiently completed for oc¬
cupancy, and the next meeting was to be held in it.

Progress had been made at the University, the bricks
being burnt on the land and the lime made from oyster
shells brought from the Cape Fear by way of Fayetteville
and burnt on the premises. The Trustees met on the ioth
of January, 1794, to select a principal, and from half a
dozen distinguished ministers, among them Rev. John
Brown, afterwards President of the University of Georgia ;
Rev. James Tate, a famous educator of the Cape Fear;
Rev. George Micklejohn of Regulator fame; Dr. Mc-
Corkle, a distinguished teacher of Rowan County, and Rev.
David Kerr, the Presbyterian pastor and school-teacher at
Fayetteville, they chose the last named. The opening day
was to be January 15, but it was not until February 12
that the first pupil, Hinton James, arrived, coming from
Wilmington ; and then a fortnight elapsed before three
others arrived, also from Wilmington, the sons of Alfred
Moore, later justice of the Supreme Court, and their
cousin, Richard Eagles. Others soon followed ; and at the
end of the term the number had increased to 41.

The press

From 1785 there had been steady increase in the number
of presses and newspapers in the State. Indeed, Abram
Hodge alone had presses at New Bern, Edenton, Halifax
and Fayetteville, and was instrumental in establishing three
newspapers. He was in five different firms, and at his
death had served the State for fifteen years as “Printer to
the State. ” The printers generally had book stores, and
they were instruments in distributing publications made by
their patrons ; and as it was in their line of business to pro¬
mote publications, they fostered the practice of reaching
the public through such means. Indeed Davis, Martin and
Hodge contributed much to broaden and strengthen the

CONSTITUTION IN COURT

intellectual advancement of North Carolina. Before the
close of the century presses had been set up, besides those
above mentioned, at Wilmington, Hillsboro, Salisbury, Lin-
colnton and the “City of Raleigh.”

States’ rights

At the election that year the divergence between the Re¬
publicans under the leadership of Jefferson and the Feder¬
alists under that of Hamilton became more pronounced than
ever and a decision rendered by the Supreme Court brought
the academic question of states’ rights into the realm of
reality and aroused the people who feared for their former
liberties. In 1792, Chisholm, a citizen of South Carolina, as
executor, having some unascertained claim against the
State of Georgia, brought suit against that State in the
Supreme Court of the United States. The Court took ju¬
risdiction and, Georgia not appearing, gave judgment by
default. In the proceeding the several justices of the Su¬
preme Court filed opinions in which the differing views ex¬
pressed as to the nature of the government under the Con¬
stitution illustrate the divergence of thought at that early
period. Chief Justice Jay said: “The people of the several
colonies being subjects of Great Britain were fellow sub¬
jects and in a variety of respects one people. . . . From

the Crown of Great Britain the sovereignty of their country
passed to the people of it. Afterwards in the hurry of
the war they made a confederation of states and then the
people in their collective and national capacity estab¬
lished the present Constitution. They declared with be¬
coming dignity — ‘We, the people of the United States do
ordain and establish this Constitution.’ Here we see the peo¬
ple acting as sovereigns of the whole country, and in the
language of sovereignty establishing a constitution, by
which it was their will that the state governments should
be bound, and to which the state constitutions should be
made to conform. Every state constitution is a compact

141

Weeks: The
Pi'ess of
N. C„ 39,
43, 49

Chisholm vs.
Georgia

1794

142

THE NEW CAPITAL

Iredell’s

opinion

1794

made by and between the citizens of a state to govern them¬
selves in a certain manner; and the Constitution of the
United States is likewise a compact made by the people of
the United States to govern themselves as to general ob¬
jects in a certain manner. By this great compact, however,
many state prerogatives were transferred to the national
government.”

Judge Wilson said: “The people of the United States
were the citizens of her thirteen states, connected together
by articles of confederation. The articles of confedera¬
tion, as it is well known, did not operate upon individual
citizens, but operated only upon states. Before that
time the Union possessed legislative, but unenforced legis¬
lative power over the states. Whoever considers, as a
combined and comprehensive view, the general texture of
the Constitution, will be satisfied that the people of the
United States intended to form themselves into a nation,
for national purposes. They instituted, for such purposes,
a national government, complete in all its parts, with powers
legislative, executive and judicial; and in all these parts
extending over the whole nation.” Judge Wilson’s argu¬
ment was much stronger than that of the Chief Justice.

The opinion of Iredell, a leading and staunch Federalist,
was different. As a legal argument on the point in the
case it was much superior to that of the Chief Justice; and
in what reference he made to historical events he was
much more accurate than any of the other justices. “A
state does not owe its origin to the government of the United
States. It was in existence before it. ... A state, though
subject in certain specified particulars, to the authority of
the government of the United States, is, in every other re¬
spect, totally independent of it. Every state in the

Union, in every instance where its sovereignty has not been
delegated to the United States, I consider to be as completely
sovereign as the United States is in respect to the powers
surrendered. . . . The United States are sovereign as to all

STATES’ RIGHTS FORTIFIED

143

the powers of government actually surrendered; each state
in the Union is sovereign as to all the powers reserved.”
He said that the court had no jurisdiction; that Congress
had not attempted to confer such jurisdiction on the court,
nor did the Constitution provide that states might be sued
by individuals. And in this he was but reiterating what
he and others had earlier declared. He had earlier said as
to any coercive power over states as states: “No man of
common sense can any longer contend for that" ; and to the
same effect had John Marshall, afterwards the famous Chief
Justice, expressed himself in the Virginia Convention: “I
hope no gentleman will think that a state will be called at
the bar of the Federal Court. It is not rational to suppose
that the sovereign power will be dragged before a court.”
And Maclaine, a most violent advocate of ratification, had
spoken in the North Carolina Convention to the same effect.
But Iredell was overruled, and judgment by default was
entered against the State of Georgia. Immediately on
March 5, 1794, a representative from Massachusetts pro¬
posed in Congress a constitutional amendment: “That the
judicial power of the United States shall not be construed
to extend to any suit commenced against a state by citizens
of another state.” And Congress speedily passed the pro¬
posed amendment, and it came at once to the states for rati¬
fication and was ratified. The command was so positive that
it was as if the states had raised a clenched fist at the court,
commanding: “Don’t you do that again!” In North Caro¬
lina, Davie agreed with Iredell, and the Republicans, now
backed by these, took strong ground, and Iredell’s dissenting
opinion became the very foundation stone of the states’ rights
doctrine. The states had every attribute of sovereignty not
specifically delegated to the common government which the
states had established between themselves, and among the
powers delegated there was no mention of the coercion of
a state. The Republicans were successful at the election ;

Judge

Marshall

The Consti¬
tution
amended

144

THE NEW CAPITAL

1794

Raleigh

Bloodworth

Senator

indeed so successful that only one Federal, Grove of
Fayetteville, was elected a representative in Congress.

The first Assembly at Raleigh

At last, on December 30, 1794, the State House at Raleigh
being then sufficiently complete, the Assembly met in the
permanent capital of the State. The State House, de¬
scribed as an ugly pile of brick and wood, without porch
or ornament, was built by Rhodes Atkins. The plan was
similar to that of the later edifice. But while there were
in the building rooms for the State officers, there were no
residences for the Governor and other State officers to
occupy. As yet there was no town, but a tavern or two
had been erected, and necessarily the members had to come
from their homes either on horseback or in private con¬
veyances ; theretofore, the Assembly had convened in towns
with some accommodations, and this must have been a very
uncomfortable experience. At this first memorable occu¬
pancy of the Capitol, 1794, Governor Spaight was re¬
elected, and Lenoir as Speaker of the Senate; but Timothy
Bloodworth, the positive Republican, was chosen by the
House. The Legislature ratified the proposed amendment
to the Constitution, which later became the Eleventh
Amendment. Then when the election was held for United
States Senator, to succeed Hawkins, Bloodworth was chosen
by a single vote over Alfred Moore. They were both
from the Cape Fear country; Moore distinguished in every
walk in life, and Bloodworth, although known as the black¬
smith politician, had the elements of a fine manhood in
him and drew the Republicans around him.

Importation of slaves restricted

And at this Assembly a noteworthy step was taken in
regard to slavery. In 1774 the people of Rowan had re¬
solved against the African slave trade, and the first Pro¬
vincial Congress, held that year, had agreed that “we will

The First Capitol. Completed 1794; destroyed by fire June 21, 1831
Insert — Canova’s statue of Washington

RESTRICTIONS ON SLAVE IMPORTATION

145

not import any slave or purchase any slave brought into
this province by others after the first day of November
next.” But that resolution seems to have fallen into in¬
nocuous desuetude, for in 1786 duties were levied on im¬
ported slaves brought in from Africa; and those brought in
from the Northern States where emancipation was in prog¬
ress were to be returned. Four years later the duties on
the importation of slaves were repealed ; but slaves brought
in from the Northern States were still to be returned. Now,
at this first session at Raleigh, a very stringent act was
passed prohibiting any one from bringing into this State
any slave or indentured servant of color; unless the person
should take an oath that he was coming into the State to
settle and be a citizen, and that he was not bringing the
servant of color into the State' for sale. And at this same
session, owners were prohibited from allowing slaves to
have their own time, and meetings of negroes were pro¬
hibited and greater supervision of them was required by pa¬
trolmen ; and there was another act passed requiring the jury
and court on the trial of a slave to render verdict and sen¬
tence agreeably to the laws of the country. There was
evidently, however, apprehension in regard to the negroes,
for at the next session, it was forbidden for any owner
coming to settle to bring with him from the southern islands
any negroes over the age of fifteen ; and if any free person
of color should come into the State, he was required to
give bond for his good behavior.

The improvement of local conditions was also in the
minds of the Assemblymen, and an act was passed author¬
izing the county courts to establish fairs in their counties
‘‘so as to afford an opportunity and give encouragement to
industry by collecting the inhabitants for the purpose of
exchanging, bartering and selling all such articles as they
wish to dispose of.”

1794

Local fairs

146

THE NEW CAPITAL

Episcopal

church

In 1794 the Protestant Episcopal Church was organized
in the State. On the 5th of June, 1789, two clergymen,
Rev. Charles Pettigrew and Rev. Janies L. Wilson, and
two laymen met at Tarboro, and acceded to the Constitution
of the Protestant Episcopal Church as adopted at Philadel¬
phia in that year. It was proposed to hold a second con¬
vention that November, but the effort failed, and in No¬
vember, 1790, the next convention was held, there being
four clergymen and four laymen present. There was no
other convention held until November, 1793, when there
were only three clergymen and three laymen in attendance.
In May, 1794, there were eight members in the State in¬
cluding Mr. Miller, who had taken orders as a Lutheran
minister, but only four of them and only four of the laity
attended the convention which met at Tarboro. Rev.
Charles Pettigrew was chosen Bishop ; but he never went
to be ordained. In none of these conventions did the
southern half of the State have any representative. Craven,
Martin, Edgecombe, Pitt, Granville, Hertford and North¬
ampton and “near the Yadkin,” were the residences of
the ministers.

Jay’s treaty

There were many matters in controversy between the
United States and Great Britain and Great Britain had been
slow to give them consideration, but at length, in 1794, con¬
ditions seemed to be propitious, and Washington appointed
Chief Justice Jay as Envoy Extraordinary for the purpose
of concluding a treaty. Although perhaps not entirely sat¬
isfactory to Washington, he approved the treaty and it
was ratified. In August, 1795, Sam Johnston wrote: “The
stipulations restraining the vessels of the United States
from carrying any molasses, sugar, coffee, or cotton either
from the islands belonging to Great Britain or from the

TREATY DENOUNCED

147

United States to any part of the world were highly excep¬
tionable; and that the British ought to have made provision

for paying for the slaves they had taken from our citizens.”

The treaty was fiercely denounced by others, and Jay fell
into public odium. The effect at the South was to strengthen
the Republicans, and they again controlled the Assembly of
this State.

CHAPTER X

1795

Friction With France

Ashe Governor. — Stone Judge. — Canals to be cut. — Changes in
the law. — All children to inherit.— Matters of fact for the jury. —
Alterations in court procedure. — Manumission limited. — The
Quakers and slavery. — Joshua Evans. — Life at Raleigh. — The
emctions. — Public attitude towards France and Great Britain. —
Adams President. — The land frauds. — Plot to burn State House.
— France hostile. — Collisions. — Washington at head of army. —
Patriotism prevails. — The pestilence. — War imminent. — Davie
Governor. — Franklin Senator. — The Kentucky resolutions. —
Taylor Judge. — The Court of Patents. — Moore Judge. — Davie’s
vigor. — Preparations. — Willis and Locke. — Jefferson’s “Scission.”
— Davie goes to France. — Leaves messages for the Assembly. —
Joseph Gales establishes the Register. — Democracy prevails. —
Williams Governor. — Black gowns and court formalities aban¬
doned. — The Court of Conference. — Death of Washington. —
Washington, Ashe and Greene counties.

Ashe Governor

When the Assembly convened it at once chose for Gov¬
ernor Ashe of New Hanover, who some twelve days later
appeared and took the oath of office. Fike Spaight, he was
a native of the State. He had been on the bench some
eighteen years, but while thus removed from political ac¬
tion, he was well known to have ever been a stalwart Anti-
Federalist. David Stone of Bertie succeeded him on the
bench. Stone was but twenty-five years of age and had
been at the bar only five years. A graduate of Princeton,
and a man of fine intelligence and attainments, he had
studied law under Davie and was much in sympathy with
the high ideals of that elegant gentleman. But his political
association was with the Anti-Federals.

Governor Ashe quickly sent a message to the Assembly in
which he referred to the action of that body requiring State
officers to reside in Raleigh six months during the year,
saying that he proposed to do that ; but suggested that a
Governor whose term was only one year could not build a
house to live in only for six months. Thereupon the Legis-

REFORMS IN JUDICIARY

149

lature directed that a house should be provided for the Gov¬
ernor by the Treasurer, either by leasing or by building.

As the previous Legislature had sought to provide do¬
mestic industries by establishing county fairs, so this one
hoped to advance the general welfare by stimulating the
cutting of canals. It was proposed that persons should
drain their low lands by ditches or canals passing through
the lands of others, and that “whereas it has been demon¬
strated by the experience of the most improved and well
cultivated countries the opening of communications by
cutting canals has been productive of great wealth and
commerce/’ the Legislature authorized the formation of
companies to cut canals for transportation and to drain
swamps.

The Assembly, despite the political conditions, addressed
itself to some amendment of the law. In 1784 entails had
been abolished, but preference had been given to the males
in exclusion of the females : now all distinctions among
children were removed and sisters were put on a level with
their brothers. And further curing some of the defects of
administration, the judges were forbidden, in charging the
jury, to express any opinion as to whether a fact was fully
or sufficiently proved, “such matter being the true office
and province of the jury,” and two peremptory challenges
were allowed to each side in every case. Indeed, during
Governor Ashe’s term, court procedure was much over¬
hauled ; and there were enactments, regulating the method
of procedure by grand juries; of issuing process; author¬
izing executors and administrators in certain cases to
convey land, and otherwise ordaining beneficial alterations
in court matters.

There was another change in the law brought about by
apprehensions lest the free negroes might induce the blacks
to give trouble. Slaves were no longer to be emancipated,
except for meritorious services, so adjudged and allowed
bv the countv courts.

Pi'ogressive

measures

Canals

All children
to inherit

Court pro¬
cedure

FRICTION WITH FRANCE

150

The Quakers* attitude toward slavery

Indeed, African slavery now began to give concern. The
institution was fixed ; property in slaves had for generations
been an inherited right, and in addition to the private rights,
there were involved public considerations of great interest,
for free negroes were a menace. About the time of the
Revolution the Quakers in North Carolina, as well as some
of the Methodists, had begun to consider the subject of
slavery. Mr. Asbury was much in favor of having the
slaves emancipated, and some of the Quakers were of the
same mind. In 1772 the Quakers had addressed the As¬
sembly against the importation of slaves, and ten years
later they had made progress ‘‘in clearing the Society of

W GGKS •

Southern slavery,” and in securing the rights of the manumitted.

Quakers .

In 1795, the Legislature having passed an act requiring
all free negroes to give bond for good behavior, the next
“Yearly Meeting” drew a petition urging the Assembly to
allow owners to emancipate their slaves and asking that
those emancipated should be protected as freemen, for it

1790 was asserted that some negroes manumitted had been seized

and sold into slavery. Joshua Evans, a traveling Quaker
preacher, then on his way to Georgia, happened to be in
Raleigh when this petition was presented to the Assembly.
At that time the little hamlet was barely three years old.

At Raleigh A tavern had been erected in the forest and a few resi¬
dences, where some of the members found board. At the
tavern there were about “forty men of note.” Notwith¬
standing Evans was urging abolition of slavery, the mem¬
bers received him kindly. “A number of them invited me
freely to come into their rooms and sit with them, and that
they should be pleased if I would do so; all this furnishing
me with opportunities to touch on their cruel laws and the
hardships to which the poor blacks were subjected in that
government. Many of them kindly invited me to come and
see them if I should come near their dwellings.” And

DIFFERENT COLOR IN POLITICS

151

when he came to settle, the tavern keeper would take no
pay for his board. These details indicate no resentment at
his views. But there were serious objections to acting fa¬
vorably on the petition. The agitation by the Quakers in
Albemarle had already led to disastrous results. Negroes
had been led to. expect liberation. The idea of emancipa- Evi1 results
tion was openly held out to them. Their minds were alien¬
ated from service. Runaways were protected, harbored and
encouraged. “Arsons are committed.” The grand jury
at Edenton, therefore, made a presentment of the Quakers
in Eastern North Carolina “as the authors of the common
mischief in their quarter,” and based on the allegations
above quoted. So at the following session, the Assembly
passed an even more stringent law against emancipation.

But, ignoring the law, the Quakers persisted in urging in-

Weeks :
Southern

Qiiskcrs,

dividuals to set their slaves free, merely by a release of 221, 222
ownership, and the Legislature found it necessary to re¬
quire that some provision should be made for old slaves
that were not cared for. Society hqd to be protected.

The election

Washington’s term was now expiring and John Adams,
the Vice-President, desired to succeed him. Jefferson, who
had retired from the Cabinet in 1793, was at the head of the
opposition. Massachusetts and Virginia were once more
the contestants, and sectional bitterness was fed by personal
and political antagonisms. Four years earlier, the division
of the people was in some measure based on apprehensions
regarding the form and powers of the government. Now
a different color was given to public matters. France and
Great Britain had their respective friends, and each of
these powers was seeking to exert an influence in the
United States. There was much sympathy for France ; and
Jefferson was regarded as the especial friend of the French
Republic ; while the Paris horrors easily led the Federalists
to stigmatize the opponents of Adams as Jacobins. Davie,

1796

152

FRICTION WITH FRANCE

17J6

November,

1797

Plot to burn
Capitol

writing to Iredell in November, said: “Uncommon pains
have been taken by the Jacobin party to insure the election
of Jefferson”; but at the north these efforts were without
avail. Judge Patterson of the Supreme Court wrote De¬
cember i : “The contest will be severe. From New Jersey
to New Hampshire, the votes, being 58, will be for Mr.
Adams.” And so it happened, except Pennsylvania the
North was solid for Adams. Maryland likewise gave
Adams 7 votes. Pennsylvania went with the South for
Jefferson. In North Carolina one district was carried by
Adams, and Adams was elected by a single vote above the
requisite majority. The Congressional delegation remained
Republican with the exception of Grove. The Assembly
was Anti-Federal and chose the same Speaker as its pred¬
ecessor.

The land frauds

In 1797 Governor Ashe discovered improprieties in is¬
suing grants and he Galled the matter to the attention of
the Council of State ; but it was not at first supposed that
there were any frauds, for the officers were of the highest
reputation. However, the Legislature, when it met in No¬
vember, appointed a Board of Inquiry. There was a land
office at Nashville, Tennessee, under Major John Arm¬
strong. In the Raleigh office, William Tyrrell, the clerk,
would issue grants calling for certain corners and covering
a specified acreage, while the lines when run would em¬
brace from ten to a hundred times as many acres as men¬
tioned ; and there were other fraudulent methods devised.
When these discoveries were made, Tyrrell fled. For safe
keeping the books containing those entries were moved into
the Comptroller’s office. In the succeeding April, 1798,
Judge Tatum and John McNairey at Nashville dispatched
a messenger to Governor Ashe conveying information of a
plot to carry off these books, and to burn the State House.
It seems that the plot was hatched by Glasgow, the Secre-

GLASGOW A FALLEN ANGEL

153

tary of State. The Governor in calling the Council to¬
gether wrote : “An angel has fallen,” so astonished was he
that Glasgow should be involved. James Glasgow of Dobbs
County had been an early patriot, and had been Secretary of
State for twenty years; and for years been Deputy Grand
Master of the Masonic order, which embraced in its mem¬
bership nearly every man of standing in the State. When
the Council met, in his written statement the Governor said :
“The scheme was concerted in the house of a person who
seems to be in the character of a fallen angel.” The effort
to carry off the papers was frustrated, and that to burn the
State House failed through the measures taken by the
Governor.

France hostile

While these startling incidents were claiming attention,
some notable changes occurred. Judge Stone retired from
the bench and sought political honors. He announced him¬
self for Congress in the Albemarle district and, although
of Anti-Federal association, was warmly supported by the
leading Federalists. Indeed, in the progress of unexpected
events, the old party lines were much broken down. The
President could not close his eyes to the audacity of the
French government, then in the throes of revolution and
under the Directory, nor could he brook their insults. He
took measures looking to war. Indeed, actual hostilities
had begun on the ocean and collisions had occurred. Con¬
gress at once strengthened the naval force, provided for the
appointment of a Secretary of Navy, and authorized our
merchantmen to arm. Presently we had captured many
French ships and France was despoiling our commerce.
Congress likewise provided for a provisional army of regu¬
lars, and Washington was called from his retirement to
the command. In July, 1798, Davie was appointed by the
President Brigadier General in this new army, to command
the North Carolina contingent. No longer could there be

1798

War

imminent

Secretary of
the Navy

Washington
in command

Davie,

Brigadier

Genera]

154

FRICTION WITH FRANCE

Alien and
sedition law

November,

1798

Iredell, II,

536-538

The yellow
fever

any divisions among patriots. And Congress in the furore
of the occasion passed bills known as the Alien and Sedi¬
tion Laws, authorizing the President to deport aliens, and
to imprison any one who defamed the government, Congress
or the President. In the meanwhile, Talleyrand, the French
Premier, had proceeded so far as to have the American
commissioners in France informed that before they would
be heard they must pay 1,200,000 francs; and when the
commissioners had returned, the sentiment “Millions for
defense, not one cent for tribute,” thoroughly permeated the
hearts of the people. Such was the inflamed condition
and temper of the times during the summer and fall of
1798.

In the State

At the Congressional election the Federals carried four
districts ; and while there was no particular change in the
personnel of the Assembly, the majority was in line with
the administration. Indeed when in November, Sam John¬
ston, now again in the Senate, came to Raleigh, he wrote
home : “Davie is talked of for Governor, and will meet
with no opposition. I was much surprised to find even
Governor Ashe so perfectly anti-Gallican ; but it is the
fashion, and no one pretends to be otherwise.”

The change was quickly heralded abroad. The good
news flew. Charles Lee in Virginia wrote : “The change
in North Carolina is most pleasing,” and William Rawle,
the great Philadelphia lawyer, wrote to Iredell: “Your ac¬
count of the election is a consolation in the midst of our
misfortunes.” Philadelphia was indeed in the midst of
misfortune. The yellow fever had stricken the city heavier
than ever before. It was more malignant than in 1793.
The only safety was in flight. Charles Lee wrote : “The
pestilence now rages with increased fatality. In New York
City it is terrible also. I think Congress ought not to hold
its session in Philadelphia next winter.” Nor was the pesti-

FRANKLIN SUCCEEDS MARTIN

155

lence confined to those cities. It invaded every seaport and
North Carolina did not escape. It struck Wilmington and
other seaboard towns disastrously.

In the Assembly

When the Assembly met, the Senate was strongly under
Federal influence ; the House was not so. There was, how¬
ever, no change made in the speakers of the houses. Gov¬
ernor Ashe’s term was now expiring, and war was flagrant ;
so Davie, the preeminent soldier of the day, and eminent
for his talents and character, was called to the helm. But
already there was clamor against the Alien and Sedition
Acts, which Jefferson with great astuteness intensified, pro¬
curing the Legislature of Kentucky to adopt resolutions that
challenged the attention of the country. Martin had voted
for those acts in Congress, and had become “wonderfully
Federal,” so the Republican leaders rallied all their strength
and defeated him. He was replaced by Jesse Franklin of
Surry, not so scholarly as Martin, not so eloquent as many
others, but of solid worth, typifying the best North Caro¬
lina characteristics — integrity and honesty of purpose,
united with intelligence, broad views and patriotism. He
was a staunch Republican. The Kentucky resolutions were
communicated to the House by Governor Davie. The
House received them and sent them to the Senate. The
Senate heard them read “with great impatience,” and “or¬
dered them to lie on the table.” “I believe,” wrote Gov¬
ernor Johnston, “in the temper they were in they might
easily have been prevailed on to have thrown them into the
fire, which was proposed in whispers by several near us.”
Then the House, by a respectable majority, adopted an
address to the President which the Senate passed unani¬
mously, not so high in praise “of his great abilities and in¬
tegrity” as Johnston wished. This was, however, followed
by a resolve by the House urging the delegation in Con-

Davie

Martin de¬
feated

Franklin

Senator

Kentucky

resolutions

Iredell, II,
542

156

FRICTION WITH FRANCE

Iredell, II,
542

House
Journal, 75,
77

Judge

Taylor

Davie and
Moore

gress to seek to repeal the Alien and Sedition Acts, which
was rejected by the Senate 31 to 8; but notwithstanding
the Senate would not concur, the House adopted the re¬
solves and ordered them forwarded to the Senators and
Representatives in Congress. The Republicans while rea1
sonably complacent would not utterly abdicate their
principles.

Judge Williams’s health had now become such that he
could not attend his courts and, as he did not resign, the
Assembly provided for an additional judge, John Louis
Taylor being elected to the bench. Thus was introduced
into our judiciary one of its chief est ornaments. Taylor
was born in London, of Irish parentage, and while a lad
of ten years his brother brought him to New Bern. After
graduating at William and Mary College, he had studied
law and settled at Fayetteville. He soon married a sister
of William Gaston, and between these two distinguished
men there existed the most affectionate intercourse.

Court of Patents

Because of the discovery of the land frauds, a commis¬
sion was appointed to investigate all the facts, and a Court
of Patents was established with power to annul fraudulent
grants. To succeed Glasgow, William White, a nephew of
Governor Caswell, was elected Secretary of State, and a
bond of ten thousand pounds was required for that office.
Governor Sam Johnston had in view to create a court of ap¬
peals, but he was then ahead of the times, and he failed in
his purpose. To succeed Judge Stone, elected to Congress,
Alfred Moore was chosen to the bench.

It was a notable circumstance that Davie and Moore were
now simultaneously made recipients of public favor. They
were highly distinguished among the illustrious characters
of that period. Indeed one of their contemporaries re¬
corded that “they shone as brilliant meteors in the firma-

BRIGHT LEGAL LIGHTS

15 7

liient.” Chief Justice Taylor ascribed to Moore “a pro¬
found knowledge of the law, and when Attorney-General, he
had performed his onerous duties with vigilance and zeal ;
but his energy was seasoned with humanity, leaving the in¬
nocent nothing to fear, and the guilty but little to hope.”
However, on the bench, Moore did not give entire satisfac¬
tion. He was captious and disregarded precedents. Per¬
haps he saw deeper than some of his predecessors or
thought that he was better fitted to make precedents than
they were. But he was not to remain long as a state judge
for on the death of Judge Iredell he was transferred to the
U. S. Supreme Court.

War preparation

Davie, entering on the office of Governor December 7,
1798, addressed himself to his duties with vigor and intel¬
ligence. His first attention was given to military prepara¬
tion. The organization of the militia was perfected and he
had the sea coast fortifications examined with a view to de¬
fense. General Brown of the Cape Fear district reported
that in 1794, Mr. Martignor had been sent by the Federal
Government to construct a fort at Smithville, and he had
demolished the old fort Johnston and had replaced it by
a heavy sand battery. General Brown had Major McRee
now to submit a new plan of defense. Likewise reports
were made about Ocracoke. Davie represented to the Fed¬
eral Government that the South had no arms nor ammu¬
nition and he was active in preparation. But not neglect¬
ful of civil affairs, he was earnest in his purpose to have
Glasgow tried and he was interested in the progress of the
work of establishing the boundary between the State and
Tennessee. While assiduously engaged in these duties, the
President appointed him one of a new commission he pro¬
posed to send to France, and Davie accepted the appoint¬
ment ; but nevertheless he continued to press forward the
business of his office.

1799

Davie, Com¬
missioner to
France

FRICTION WITH FRANCE

Iredell, II,
577

Jefferson’s
Correspond¬
ence, IV,
247

Secession

1799

The Legislature, anxious to remedy the wrongs done
by the frauds of its officers in Tennessee, directed Governor
Davie to obtain the papers of the office of Martin Arm¬
strong, then in the possession of Tennessee, and under that
authority Governor Davie on the first of March, 1799,
commissioned Gen. John Willis of Robeson County and
Francis Locke of Salisbury to go to Tennessee and if pos¬
sible obtain the papers for the use of the State. Willis and
Locke were well qualified for the mission. The former was
a gentleman of the highest respectability and character and a
lawyer of fine attainments. The latter was of equal stand¬
ing in the State. It, however, does not appear that their
mission availed.

It was not until August that the commission made its re¬
port on the Glasgow frauds and the Court of Patents did
not meet at all. While these afifairs were claiming Davie’s
attention, he was concerned at learning that in Virginia
there was such dissatisfaction that some of the leaders
there were talking of “seceding from the Union,” while
others boldly asserted the policy and practicability of “sev¬
ering the Union,” alleging that Pennsylvania would join
them, that Maryland would be compelled to ; that the sub¬
mission and assistance of North Carolina was counted on
as a matter of course. Indeed, the subject was put up to
Jefferson, who called it “Scission,” but while he expressly
affirmed the right to secede, he did not deem it expedient.

Davie goes abroad

In the meantime, the President deemed that conditions
had so far improved that it was proper and expedient for
the commission he had appointed to depart to France. It
was necessary for Davie to leave the State. The Assembly
had directed that the Governor should keep his office open
at Raleigh the entire year; and if he himself were going
to be absent that he should so. advertise in a newspaper, but
his office should be kept open by his private secretary.

FIRST PRINTING PRESS IN RALEIGH

159

Davie seems to have arranged his official matters in con¬
formity with these directions. It does not appear that he
resigned; nor did General Smith, the Speaker of the Sen
ate, become Governor in his absence. On the contrary he
prepared seven separate messages or communications for
the Assembly, on various subjects, which he delivered to his
private secretary to be presented when it should convene.
All of these messages but one were dated September 10;
the other, dated November 10, advised the Legislature of
his leaving the State on the duties assigned him by the
President. On September 22 he left Halifax, and on No¬
vember 3 sailed from Newport, Rhode Island. There was
no official notice taken of his absence from his office. His
communications were received and treated as if he were
present.

Joseph Gales

During the year, Raleigh received as a citizen its first
editor and saw established its first printing press. Joseph
Gales had been an editor, publisher and book seller at
Sheffield, England, along with Montgomery, afterwards
known as the poet. In England, as one of the effects of
the French Revolution, democratic societies had sprung up
in many of the counties, and Gales was in sympathy with
them. For some cause, an order was issued for the ar¬
rest of Gales, and being advised of it, at his wife’s entreaty
he fled to Holland, where his wife joined him, and a year
later they came to Philadelphia, reaching there in 1795.
Buying a newspaper in Philadelphia, and being able to re¬
port the proceedings in Congress in shorthand, he soon
took high rank as a newspaper man. His sympathies were
with the Anti-Federals or the Republicans, as Jefferson
called those who cooperated with him. Because of the
yellow fever that had appeared in consecutive years at Phil¬
adelphia, Gales determined to seek another location and
some of the North Carolina delegation prevailed on him

1799

i6o

FRICTION WITH FRANCE

Williams,

Governor

Nov., 1799

Black gowns
abandoned

One judge
to hold court

Acts 1799,
ch. 4

to locate at Raleigh. Here in 1799 he began the publica¬
tion of the Register which his fine abilities soon made the
leading paper in the State, greatly strengthening his party
and giving it a more democratic tone. But Hodge, whose
office was at Fayetteville, issued a paper dated Raleigh,
shortly before the appearance of the Register.

Democracy prevails

When the Assembly met the war feeling aroused by
France had subsided and the discontent over the Alien and
Sedition Acts had become intensified by the arrest of editors
and others disagreeable to the President. The tide was
running against Federalism. The same speakers were
chosen and Benjamin Williams, defeated by Davie the year
before, was elected Governor. Mr. Willianis was a large
and successful planter of Moore County and closely con¬
nected with some of the leading families of the eastern
counties. He was a man of fine intelligence and stood
among the first of the progressive agriculturists of the
State. The Legislature, now to conform to a democratic
sentiment, abolished the practice of having sheriffs to pre¬
cede the judges to and from the courthouse with wands,
and having the doorkeeper to precede the speakers with
maces, and the practice these officials had to array them¬
selves in black gowns was likewise abandoned. These an¬
cient forms were repugnant to the new democratic
sentiment.

To remedy some obvious inconveniences, there being four
judges, the State was now divided into four ridings and one
judge was allowed to hold a Superior Court in each riding;
but there was to be rotation. And another interesting
change was made in the judicial department that was some¬
what in line with Governor Johnston’s proposition to estab¬
lish a court of appeals. The judges were to meet at
Raleioh in Tune and December and determine any questions
of law not determined in the circuit. They were to discuss

NEW COUNTIES ERECTED

161

these points of law among themselves, but the practice did
not obtain of having attorneys to argue before them. By
the same act, the judges were to hold a court to try those
persons indicted for land frauds. However, the operation
of this act was limited to two years.

Death of Washington

On December 14, at Mount Vernon, the great Washing¬
ton went to his reward. There was a universal manifesta¬
tion of sorrow. The Legislature being in session immedi¬
ately named a county in his remembrance ; but in the same
bill a new county was erected and named for one of the
principal Republican leaders, Governor Sam Ashe. At the
same time the name of Glasgow was expunged from the list
of counties, and Greene was substituted in honor of General
Greene. At this session, further to show affection for
Washington, Governor Williams was directed to take steps
to procure two full length portraits of him who “was first
in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his country¬
men.” Governor Williams ascertained through Represent¬
ative Grove that Gilbert Stuart would paint a portrait of
Washington for $600 and the frame would cost $200.
Such a portrait was procured and still adorns the Hall of
Representatives, but it was painted by Sully.

The judges
to confer

CHAPTER XI

The New Century

Social conditions. — Caldwell at the University. — Smith’s dona¬
tion. — The academies and schools. — Medical Society. — Agricul¬
tural. — The State buys the cotton gin right. — Transportation. —
River improvements. — Horse racing. — Halifax cotton factory. —
Willis’s mail to Tennessee. — Wolves. — Women’s work. — The
religious situation. — Infidelity. — Asbury’s journeys. — The revival.
— The great meetings. — Elder Burkett. — The jerks. — State affairs.
— Death of Iredell. — Moore succeeds him. — Johnston. — Glas¬
gow’s trial. — Haywood. — The newspapers. — Hall replaces Judge
Williams. — Stone Senator. — The electoral college. — Jefferson
President.

1800

Williams

Governor

Conditions in 1800

The new century opened with the public mind still agi¬
tated because of recent events. Glasgow had not been
brought to trial. A special court had been created to hear
the case. The people were mourning for Washington. Davie
had not yet reached Paris, but the expectation of peace
that had led to the sending of the commission had given
confidence that there would be no war ; and the Alien and
Sedition Acts were being denounced. In the State the
people were returning to the Republican party.

The white population had increased in the decade 18
per cent; the free blacks had increased to 7,000, being about
40 per cent, while the slaves increased 33 per cent. The
total population was now 468,103.

Education

There had in recent years been more attention given to
education. Joseph Caldwell, a graduate of Princeton, had
in 1796 been called to the University. Gen. Benj. Smith
had given to this institution 20,000 acres of Tennessee lands,
and others had made liberal donations in cash, while
Charles Gerrard added in his will a bequest of a valuable
tract of 2,560 acres, and the faculty and student body, hav-

Salem Academy. Opened in 1772; corner stone of this building laid in 1803

NOTABLE ACADEMIES

ing gone through a season of turmoil, were both now on a
secure foundation.

Acts had been passed incorporating academies at Eden-
ton, Kinston, New Bern, Warrenton, Greenville, Wilming¬
ton, in Franklin, in Richmond, Duplin, Currituck, two in
Anson, Onslow, Tarboro, Lumberton, Murfreesboro,
in Bladen, Randolph, Montgomery, at Salisbury, Smithville,
Guilford, Fayetteville, Raleigh, Rockingham and Hyco.
There were besides numerous private schools taught by the
Presbyterian ministers and others throughout the State ;
some being of particular merit. In Wilkes there was main¬
tained for thirty years a school, which was ever mentioned
for high excellence, and at Wilmington where the noted
Rev. Robert Tate had opened a classical school in 1760, Rev.
William Bingham in 1785 began his great career as a
teacher. About 1800 the Innes Academy was built, the
first teacher being Dr. Hailing, who later was succeeded
by John Rogers, earlier a midshipman in the naval service,
and later, when established at Hillsboro, a doctor of medi¬
cine, his degree being obtained at Baltimore. The teacher
at New Bern for twenty years was Thomas P. Irving, a
graduate of Princeton.

Williamsboro, the home of Judge John Williams, a jurist
whose superior merit was early recognized, was “a neigh¬
borhood of cultured people.” John Hicks was the teacher
there.

At Warrenton there was a fine academy for at least fif¬
teen years under the care of Marcus George, a graduate
of Trinity College, Dublin, and then under others of supe¬
rior merit, while a little later '‘The Mordecai Female Sem¬
inary” became an institution of great value. And the Salem
Female Academy likewise attracted pupils from various
parts of the State, every year becoming more and more
highlv esteemed. The Caswell Academy was taught by
Rev. Hugh Shaw, with Bartlett Yancey as his assistant:

Cape Fear

Chronicles,

665

Coon :

Schools alnd
Academies.
II, 17f.

Smith : Hist.
Ed., p. 118

164

THE NEW CENTURY

and the graduates of the University were now finding con¬
genial employment in teaching.

Hall’s Clio Nursery and Academy of Science in Iredell
County, for decades was the principal factor in the educa-
Nmc.hpE38 tion of the western counties, eventually giving place to
Davidson College. Hall’s English Grammar was largely
used as a textbook in this and in the neighboring states.

When the Raleigh Academy was started in 1802, German
Guthrie, a teacher of note and experience was employed;
and after some changes, in 1810, Rev. William McPheeters
was called as pastor of the town and principal of the school ;
and he remained so for twenty years. That academy was
“of two stories, 40x24 feet, twelve feet pitch, two doors
and eight windows on the first floor ; and painted inside and
out." Five years later a new building for the female de¬
partment was erected. At Smithfield the academy was
about the same size. That at Warrenton was larger; while
those at Oxford and at Tarboro were still larger, two stories,
60x24 feet.

Agriculture

The profession of the medical gentlemen was advanced by
the incorporation of the State Medical Society, while in
agriculture, there was displayed activity and progress.
Among the leading planters were Benjamin Smith, for five
terms Speaker of the Senate; Benjamin Williams, the Gov¬
ernor, and Gen. H. W. Harrington, of Richmond County,
described by General Smith as the first farmer of the State,
when asking him to furnish “among other seed Siberian,
annual and perennial Vetch, Smyrna Wheat, Winter Oats
and Spelts”; and they talked about “Timothy beans” and
“Black-eyed peas,” and “some Superior” ; and rice and
cotton ; and Smith asks Harrington to deliver him 2,000
bushels of corn at Georgetown; and says: “Notwithstand¬
ing the great cry about cotton, I think the best farming we

NEW DAY FOR COTTON

can go in would be to sow a crop of wheat and, immedi¬
ately after it is off, put in corn.” However, he was planting
cotton “in hills four feet equidistant,” and was solicitous
about the gins. And certainly there were others, in
Edgecombe particularly, but generally in every county, quite
as progressive and eager for improvement. Indeed the
State at once purchased from Eli Whitney and his partner
the right to use, make and sell their patented cotton gin in
the State, and the difficulty in preparing the staple for
market now being removed a great demand sprang up for ^ state
cotton and a new day for cotton and for the South was cot

ushered in.

Transportation

Nor was the Assembly indifferent to transportation. The
roads were bad, the farms isolated, and at least 7,000 hogs¬
heads of tobacco were hauled from the State to Petersburg .
alone, while in the eastern counties, remarked General
Washington, barrels of turpentine were rolled in the same
style. But water transportation first claimed attention.
“Thirty-four thousand people on the Catawba are now de¬
nied transportation facilities,” said the Assembly ; and
therefore provision was made for the improvement of that
river. Likewise in 1796, bills were passed for improving
the transportation of the Roanoke, for cutting a canal to pavement
the river Pungo, near Plymouth ; to improve the Cape Fear,
the Deep and the Haw, to facilitate the navigation of the
Yadkin and 'the Pee Dee, to improve the Tar, the Meherrin,
the Hyco, and the Great Contentnea. Apparently the entire
river system was calling for attention and public thought
was aroused on the subject of water transportation; while
the completion of the Dismal Swamp Canal was looked
forward to with great interest.

THE NEW CENTURY

1 66

Horse racing

In these years there were also some choice spirits who
were addicted to horseflesh. Fine stock was valued. Rac¬
ing was interesting. Betting was allowed. One of the
fastest horses in the State, perhaps in any state, was jointly
owned by a group of Cape Fear gentlemen and trained at
Hyrneham, on Rocky Point, by DeKeyser, an Austrian
officer; another was Hyder Ali, the patriot of India being
such a favorite that Davie called a son after him, and Mr.
Williams his great horse. At a later date, in 1823, the
Edenton Gazette said: “We stated in our last as our belief
that Betsy Richards, who beat Cock of the Rock with so
much ease, was raised and owned by Colonel Johnson, of
Virginia. This is not correct — Betsy Richards belongs to
William Amis, Esq., who owns her dame and sire, the cele¬
brated Sir Archy. Flying Cinders, who beat in two heats,
with great ease, the Long Island mare Slow and Easy, is an
Archy from North Carolina but owned by Mr. William
Wynne, of Virginia. So that it appears that Henry, Betsy
Richards, John Richards and Flying Cinders, the best
coursers of the day, are all North Carolina horses and not
Virginia. (The breed of Virginia horses and Virginia
presidents gave out at the same time.)” And under the
heading, “Sports of the Turf,” the Post of May 5, 1823,
had this item: “The Halifax (N. C.) races commenced on
Wednesday 1 6, of last month. It is rumored, says the
Edenton Gazette, that John Richards, four years old, a horse
of great bottom, will be taken to the Long Island races, to
commence in May.” In a suit brought by Williams against
Stephen Cabarrus, who held stakes, $500, the race between
Sentinel and Hyder Ali is well told. But while betting
was allowed, the Legislature deemed it prudent to enact
that no bet on a horse race should be valid unless in writ¬
ing, under seal, and with witnesses. And the Legislature
further forbade all games of betting, faro, and billiards.

MOVEMENT WESTWARD

1 67

But the Assembly was not averse to lotteries. Lotteries
were authorized for schools and other purposes, and one
for “The Halifax Cotton Manufactory,” which, if built, an¬
tedated all others in the State by a decade.

Emigration

There was some tendency to move to Tennessee, where
many had lands doubtless granted for Revolutionary serv¬
ices. General Willis was thinking of moving. Similarly, a
letter to him in 1800 reads: “I tell you I still am fully deter¬
mined to make an excursion next spring towards the
Nachez and Mississippi, as I think it the duty of every man
of family to endeavor to establish such settlement as will
be of lasting advantage to his progeny and this part of the
world.” About that time Willis established a mail line
from Fayetteville to Tennessee. A license was issued by
Duncan McRae, the United States Internal Revenue Col¬
lector, for nine dollars for “a four wheeled carriage called a
coache, owned by General John Willis and having a top and
on springs and to be drawn by four horses, for the con¬
veyance of more than one person, for the year ending 30th
September, 1802.” This also carried the mail. Later
Willis located in Tennessee.

That the State was not entirely removed from its pris¬
tine wilderness is evidenced by the bills to destroy wolves
and panthers in Onslow, Moore, Montgomery, Iredell, Ber¬
tie and in many other counties. In New Hanover the
wolves were not unknown until the railroad was built many
years later, and then they abandoned their ancestral homes.
They evidently were distrustful of the engines breathing
fire and smoke.

Women’s work

In their homes, while the men were busy with outdoor
work, the women were likewise fully engaged. A record
is to this effect: “I was born in Nixonton the 14th of

Lotteries

Mail coaches

Wolves and
panthers

THE NEW CENTURY

1 68

March, 1789, one mile from Hall’s Creek; and in a little
rise of ground from the bridge stood the big oak where
the first settlers held the Assemblies. My mother had a
great deal of spinning, warping, weaving and quilting to
do, and clothes to make for the negroes. I commenced at
five years old to help her. Quilting, I believe, was the first
thing I commenced doing. After a while I could hand the
threads to put in the stays to weave; and I learnt to sew
on the coarse shirts.” Such was a part of the ordinary work
in the homes in North Carolina. The spinning jenny and
the hand loom were on every plantation and on many farms,
making linen, woolen and cotton cloth, and the mistress had
to have the clothes made for the family including the
negroes.

Tlie religious situation

The condition of religion in the sparsely inhabited set¬
tlements was deplorable. Of people there were few, and
besides these natural conditions a wave of infidelity had
swept over the country and many of those who were leaders
of thought had turned away from the Christian doctrine
and had set up instead a rule of reason. It was somewhat,
due to the French Revolution, but Paine’s writings were
largely read, and Paine it was who had first stirred the
people to stand for independence. “The whole subject of
religion was investigated anew. The arguments against the
Bible were set forth in formidable array : Paine’s Age of
Reason passed from hand to hand, and the infidel produc¬
tions of France flooded the country: the strongest holds of
religion were shaken ; and in many places, the arguments
for reason, as paramount to revelation, gained a temporary
victory. It was while infidelity was striding throughout
„ . , the land that Kerr, the first executive of the University,

Sketches who had been a Presbyterian minister and had preached

at Fayetteville for two years, became an infidel, and Holmes,
his assistant, did the same and taught “there is no such

PREVALENCE OF INFIDELITY

169

thing as virtue.” Kerr was dismissed in 1796, and Holmes
three years later. Kerr subsequently taught school again
at Fayetteville, and was appointed by Jefferson a judge in
the Territory of Mississippi. Dr. Caldwell, the President
of the University, is quoted as writing in 1797: “In North
Carolina, particularly in that part that lies east of us, every
one believes that the first step he ought to take to rise
into respectability is to disavow, as often and as publicly
as he can, all regard for the leading doctrines of the Scrip¬
tures.” While this is surely overdrawn, yet it gives ex¬
pression to the prevailing tone of society. In many minds
reason had displaced confidence in revelation. It was so
easy to disbelieve in company with others. This general
condition is somewhat depicted in Mr. Asbury’s journal at
this period.

Glimpses of conditions

Rev. Francis Asbury had for twenty years and more been
traveling throughout the states as a Methodist preacher,
but about the opening of the century was appointed a super¬
intendent with general oversight and authority, and later
was made a bishop. He spent his life in visiting all the
circuits from Maine, through Ohio and Kentucky and along
the seaboard to Georgia. He passed through North Caro¬
lina more than a dozen times, and he and his companions
did a great work in carrying Methodism into the remotest
neighborhoods and supplying the needs of the religious life
in many communities.

The Church of England had ceased to be an organized
influence ; the Presbyterians occupied the central counties,
interspersed with the Baptists, who branched out from the
great central source on Sandy Creek where Elder Stearns
had thoroughly established them ; and on the waters of the
Catawba likewise were German Lutherans.

THE NEW CENTURY

170

N. C. Hist.
Bap. Papers,
II, No. 2

Asbury

In the eastern and northern counties while all denomina¬
tions were represented the Baptists were by far the most
numerous.

The Kehukee Association,, long established, extended
from Currituck to the Haywood or Crocker meeting house
near Warrenton.

Of Bishop Asbury this should be remarked : he cared for
the human soul whether in a black or white body; and his
colaborers urged the emancipation of the negroes. Particu¬
larly was he interested in what had taken place in Fay¬
etteville. A negro, Evans, coming to Fayetteville, estab¬
lished a Methodist church in that town, at first attended only
by negroes, then by the whites, who were attracted by his
preaching. And similarly, later at Wilmington, a Metho¬
dist church was started by the negroes, and then attended
by the whites. Wherever Asbury went he was heard by
the negroes of the neighborhood. He records :

Edenton, December, 1796. “I journeyed all through the
damp weather, and reached Pettigrew’s about six o’clock.
Here I received a letter from Mr. Wesley, in which he di¬
rects me to act as general assistant. I preached in Edenton
to a gay, inattentive people. I was much pleased with Mr.
Pettigrew : I heard him preach and received the Lord’s
Supper at his hands.”

Of New Bern he wrote: “This is a growing place. Our
society here, of white and colored members, consists of one
hundred, . . . should piety, health and trade attend

this New Bern it will be a very capital place in half a cen¬
tury from this.”

At Wilmington, he found : “This town has suffered by
two dreadful fires ; but the people are rebuilding swiftly.
The people were very attentive.” On another occasion at
Wilmington, Sunday: “The bell went round to give notice
and I preached to a large congregation. When I had done,
behold, F. Hill came into the room powdered off, with a
number of fine ladies and gentlemen. I heard him out : I

ASBURY’S OBSERVATIONS

171

verily believe his sermon was his own, it was so much like
his conversation.”

On February 26, 1800: “When we came into North Caro¬
lina, we found that on the Pee Dee, Yadkin and Deep rivers,
the snow had fallen fifteen and eighteen inches deep and
continued nearly a month on the ground, and had swelled
the rivers and spoiled the public roads.

“We had no small race through Chatham County; we
were lost three times before we came to Clark’s ferry on
Haw River, and had to send a boy a mile for the ferryman.”

March 4: “A clear, but very cold day. We were treated
with great respect at the University by the president, S Raleigh
Caldwell, and the students, citizens and many of the country
people.”

Two days later: “We came to Raleigh, the seat of gov¬
ernment. I preached in the State House. Notwithstand¬
ing this day was very cold and snowy, we had many people
to hear.” - - * -

There was no Episcopal minister in that part of the State,

Mr. Asbury narrates, for February 26, 1801, at Wilmington,
he “preached for the first time in our house ; we were Wllminston
crowded. One of the respectables came in the name of the
respectables to request that I would preach in the ancient,
venerable brick church. At four we had a large and decent
congregation.” On a subsequent visit, he said: “We have
878 Africans and a few whites in fellowship. . . The Asbury, in,

Africans hire their own time of their masters, labor and 93
grow wealthy ; they have built houses on the church lots. I
hope to be able to establish a school for their children.”

Again writing in 1806: “We had about 1,500 hearers in
our house of worship — 66 by 33 feet, galleried all around.

There may be five thousand souls in Wilmington, one-fourth
of which number, it may be, were present.”

Of New Bern, he said (1802) : “New Bern is a growing. New Bern
trading town. There are seven hundred or a thousand
houses already built, and the number is yearly increasing,

172

THE NEW CENTURY

among which are some respectable brick edifices : the new
courthouse, truly so, neat and elegant ; another famous
house, said to be designed for the Masonic and theatrical
gentlemen ; it might make a most excellent church. The
population may amount to 3,500 or 4,000 souls.”

The first
camp meet¬
ing

Foote’s
Sketches,
376, 382

The revival

But with the opening of the century a most remarkable
revival began. It is said to have begun at a funeral, where
spirituous liquors were freely offered along with provisions,
as was the custom in those days. Rev. James McCready,
being a young licentiate, was called on to ask a blessing on
the refreshments, and he refused. His stand begat an in¬
terest, and his preaching attracted attention all through
the Haw River country. Excitement began and spread
throughout all that section. McCready moved to Kentucky
and his ministrations there had a similar influence. At one
of his meetings, in June, 1800, there was a wonderful ex¬
citement. “Multitudes were struck under awful conviction.
Cries of the distressed filled the whole house.” From this
place it spread throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and
ultimately over the whole South and West. The accounts
of these meetings are surprising, how the people were af¬
fected, physically as well as mentally. The excitement
grew in North Carolina. In October, 1801, a great meeting
was held at Hawfields, in Orange. It continued five days
without intermission, religious exercises lasting all day and
far into the night. This is regarded as the first camp meet¬
ing in North Carolina. They soon became common, log
cabins being built at the places where they were to be held.
At a meeting in March, 1802, in Iredell County besides
riding carriages, there were 262 wagons on the ground.
The services lasted five days and there were between 8,000
and 10,000 people in attendance. There were four wor¬
shiping assemblies. There were present 14 Presbyterian

RELIGIOUS MANIFESTATIONS

1 73

ministers, 3 Methodist, 2 Baptist, 1 Episcopalian, 1 Dutch
Calvinist and 2 German Lutherans.

In the northeast among the Baptists there was the same
experience, Elder Burkett, the Baptist missionary, having re¬
turned from Kentucky and Tennessee. Thousands left their
homes for days to attend camp meetings. At Murfrees¬
boro, four thousand stood out in the rain for hours, while
Burkett addressed them.

In the Cape Fear country it was the same. The inhab¬
itants poured out to the camp meetings. A wave of deep
religious interest swept throughout the country and the peo¬
ple responded with amazing alacrity. Thousands congregated
in camps where services were held morning, noon and night
for days together. Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists
and families long since not associated with any organization
whatever flocked together and fell under the influence of
the prevailing spirit. Many extravagances attended some of
these meetings. The ecstasy of religious fervor knew no
limits and its manifestations were often singular and start¬
ling as acts of devotion.

The jerks

In North Carolina the revival was not at first attended
by bodily movements. But after some months these mani¬
festations appeared among the Presbyterians in the central
section of the State. In a general way they were called the
jerks, but they took many varying shapes. They spread west
of the Yadkin and southward into South Carolina; but in
these states they did not approach the excesses of Ohio and
Kentucky. They were not so powerful in their operations in
the eastern counties. Rev. Samuel McCorkle, writing Jan¬
uary 8, 1802, says of a meeting three days earlier, where
there were some 2,000 people: “Just then rose a speaker
to give a short parting exhortation, but wonderful to tell,
as if by an electric shock, a large number in every direc¬
tion, men, women, children, white and black, fell and cried

Moore :
Pioneer
Methodists,
446

Foote’s

Sketches

409

174

THE NEW CENTURY

Foote’s

Sketches,

410

for mercy; while others appeared, in every quarter, either
praying for the fallen, or exhorting bystanders to repent
and believe. This, to me perfectly new and sudden sight, I
viewed with horror.” But Mr. McCorkle’s horror later
vanished when he became accustomed to the jerks that
prevailed at every meeting. One account of this singular
exhibition is: “I saw numbers exercised in this way at a
camp meeting held in Lincoln County. Sometimes their
heads would be jerked backward and forward with such
violence that it would cause them to utter involuntarily a
sharp, quick sound similar to the yelp of a dog; and the hair
of the women to crack like a whip. Sometimes their arms,
with clenched fists, would be jerked in alternate directions
with such force as seemed sufficient almost to separate them
from the body. Sometimes all their limbs would be affected,
and they would be thrown into almost every imaginable
position, and it was as impossible to hold them as to hold
a wild horse. When a woman was exercised in this way,
other women would join hands around her and keep her
within the circle they formed ; but the men were left without
constraint to jerk at large through the congregation, over
benches, over logs and even over fences. I have seen
persons exercised in such a way that they would go all over
the floor with a quick, dancing motion, and with such rapid¬
ity that their feet would rattle upon the floor like drum¬
sticks.” One minister who years later was much venerated
gave this personal experience : “After a prayer in the house,
he walked out. He was seized in a most surprising manner.
Suddenly he began leaping about, first forward, then side¬
ways, and sometimes standing still, would swing backward
and forward, ‘see-saw fashion.’ This motion of the body
was both involuntary and irresistible at the commencement ;
and afterwards there was scarcely a disposition to resist.
The people in the house came running to his relief and
carried him in their arms to the dwelling. The fit lasted
about an hour, during which time, if the attendants let go

EFFECTS OF REVIVAL

175

their hold, he would jerk about the room as he had done in
the field.” He had several returns of the jerks, when in the
pulpit, and when not.

These bodily exercises prevailed for some years in all
the meetings held in the central counties, but by degrees they
lost their hold on the public mind as being a part of reli¬
gious experience, for persons who had no sense of religion
were frequently subject to the same fits. And after a while
the preachers not only discountenanced them, but censured
them ; and long before the devotion to religion ceased these
bodily performances became confined to only a few neigh¬
borhoods in the State.

Separated from its objectionable experiences the revival
during these early years of the century was most salutary
in its effects, reforming the life of the people, and instilling
and emphasizing religious and moral principles, and promot¬
ing domestic happiness.

State affairs

Judge Iredell died on October 20, 1799, at his home in
Edenton, just as he had completed his 49th year, still in the
prime of his extraordinary powers and in the height of his
great usefulness. He took rank among the very foremost
of the illustrious men who have given character to North
Carolina. His correspondence having been preserved and
published by Griffith J. McRee, himself of distinguished
attainments and abilities, has illuminated an interesting pe¬
riod of our history, while its excellence is highly creditable
to the social conditions it portrays. To succeed him on the
bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, Presi¬
dent Adams selected Judge Alfred Moore, who was nomi¬
nated, confirmed and appointed on December 10, 1799.

Judge Moore’s resignation having created a vacancy after
the Legislature had adjourned, Governor Williams, with the
concurrence of his Council, tendered the position to Sam
Johnston, and, in urging him to accept, dwelt on the creation

Foote’s

Sketches,

411

Death of
Iredell

Judge Sam
Johnston

176

THE NEW CENTURY

1800

of the new court to be organized at Raleigh, which it was
hoped might at length develop into a court of appeals such
as Governor Johnston desired. “It may be the beginning,’’
said the Governor, “of a radical change in the judicial
system.”

Governor Johnston’s acceptance brought to the bench the
most eminent citizen of the State, and a sound lawyer.

The Glasgow trial

The judges, among them John Haywood, who was es¬
teemed the greatest criminal lawyer of his time and was
certainly very learned, were to hold the court for the trial
of Glasgow, to which the people were looking forward with
intense interest. They were to meet in June for the great
trial. In May Judge Haywood held the Superior Court
at Halifax and returned to his home in Franklin County.
A few days later he was persuaded by a fee of $1,000 to
resign and undertake Glasgow’s defense. In his resigna¬
tion he mentioned to the Governor that for two years it had
been commonly understood that he must retire from the
bench. He indicated that because of the inadequate com¬
pensation the step was necessary. The other judges held
the court. Spruce McCay was the senior judge and pre¬
sided, his associates being Taylor and Johnston; a court of
the highest merit, whose decisions while offering certain
justice to the culprits would assuredly receive the assent
of the State. And now all eyes were turned to the scene.
Seldom has a trial so greatly absorbed public attention —
the chief defendant was a public character whose long career
had until this period been marked with particular excellence
and now, singularly enough, defended by one who had with
unusual luster worn the judicial ermine, while the issues
were of the highest concern to the people of the State.

The web of evidence woven was too strong to be broken
even by the great lawyer for the defense. Glasgow was
convicted and was fined two thousand pounds, while the

STATE PRINTING IN POLITICS

177

negro who had attempted to burn the State House suffered
the severest penalty of the law ; he was executed. The
other officials thought to have been involved in the frauds
escaped punishment.

Judge Haywood’s action in resigning to defend Glasgow
was considered as a stain, and it bore hard upon him. At
the following elections, he was a candidate both for the
Assembly and as an elector; and he failed' in each instance.
Indeed, a lawyer writing from Franklin County asserted
that he “would not poll fifty votes in that county.” Despite
his strong family connections and his deserved reputation
for profound learning he lost public favor and made ‘a ter¬
rible sacrifice without avail. Later, a great fee carried him
to Tennessee, where he located and became the Chief Justice
of that State, and the author of a valuable history of Ten¬
nessee and of other publications.

The newspapers

The publication of the Register at Raleigh led Hodge and
his nephew, William Boylan, who were publishing the
Minerva and Advertiser at Fayetteville, to move that paper
to the capital, and presently the little village became the seat
of a newspaper warfare that for a century with some inter¬
missions continued to enlist the sympathies of interested
partisans and friends. Except during the year 1789 when
A. Hall at Wilmington was the printer to the State, Hodge
had done that work for years, and he was well prepared to
execute it, for he printed books, almanacs and other publi¬
cations at Halifax, where likewise he had a printing office.

During the summer the Republicans began to talk of
sustaining the Register by giving the printing to Mr. Gales.
This the Federals denounced as using the State patronage
to help a party organ, and why should a change be made
when Hodge was a good Federalist? But when the war
fever abated, the Federalists had lost control of the State,

and Gales’s friends were successful in the Assembly, al-
12

1801

1 78

THE NEW CENTURY

though the Federalists elected five representatives in .Con¬
gress, and Adams secured four of the electoral votes of the
State. When the Assembly met, the complexion of the
Senate being changed, General Smith was not reelected
Speaker, Gen. Joseph Riddick of Gates being his successor.
In the House, Cabarrus was retained, and Williams re¬
mained Governor.

Two judges were to be chosen, one in place of Haywood,
and Johnston’s appointment having been only temporary.
There were many aspirants. For four days the balloting
continued amid great interest, then Johnston was chosen
to retain his place, and the next day, December 13, 1800,
John Hall of Warren was elected. While such an array of
talent as the other candidates afforded was highly credita¬
ble to the State, the result was happy. Johnston was an
ornament to the bench, and Hall proved an excellent judge.
His opinions are models of pure diction and perspicacity;
short, clear, sound, learned and logical, they have long
been appreciated by the profession.

Bloodworth’s term in the Senate was about to expire.
At the election of a successor, Stone, Davie, Bloodworth and
Locke were voted for; Stone was chosen, and so was trans¬
ferred from the House of Representatives to the Senate.
His rise in political affairs was phenomenal. A man of
talent, he was fortunate in being fully appreciated. Blood-
worth, never equal to the high duties of Senator, was
subsequently appointed Collector of Customs at Wilmineton,
a position much more suited to his talents than Senator.

In the electoral college

Aaron Burr of New York, a man of fine attainments, the
rival of Alexander Hamilton, but with an ambition that
led to devious paths, was the running mate of Jefferson in
the Presidential election. New England and the Northern
States, except New York, stood fast against Virginia; but
Adams lost votes at the South, and the Democratic candi-

JEFFERSON UNITES HIS PARTY

179

dates received five more votes than at the previous election,
and won.

It happened, however, that Burr received the same vote
as Jefferson, so it became necessary for the House of Repre¬
sentatives to elect one of them President. In that body,
in such an election, each state has but a single vote, the pro¬
ceeding being an election by the states, and a majority of
all the states is necessary to an election. While eight states
voted for Jefferson, six voted for Burr, and the Repre¬
sentatives from two being equally divided, they could not
vote at all. A week passed in fruitless ballotings, but on
the 36th ballot, Jefferson received a majority and became
President, Burr being the Vice-President.

The new President, not forgetful of the anxious years he
had passed and of the narrow margin by which he at last
succeeded, like an adroit politician, took measures to
strengthen his party. He soon proclaimed, “we are all
Federalists ; we are all Republicans” ; and he wanted it un¬
derstood that we were all Americans and patriots. He re¬
tained in office many Federalists and offered desirable posi¬
tions to others. He was astute to reconcile those who might
be helpful to his administration.

CHAPTER XII

Republicans in Power

Macon Speaker. — Appointments tendered Davie, Steele and
Hawkins. — The Federalists sustain the Minerva. — The Federal
Court. — The “midnight judges.” — Dominie A. Hall circuit judge.
— Court held at Bloomsbury. — Potter judge. — The Court of Con¬
ference. — Women heir to husbands in certain cases. — The new
Judiciary Act repealed. — Chief Justice Marshall. — His views. —
Death of Charles Johnson. — Duel between Stanly and Spaight. —
A drastic law enacted. — Negro insurrections. — Governor Wil¬
liams urges general education. — Graham’s plan. — Colonel Ashe
elected Governor. — Dies. — Turner Governor. — The Tuscarora
reservation to belong to the State. — The Federalists lose popu¬
larity. — Davie and Alston. — Davie leaves the State. — Both houses
of Congress presided over by North Carolinians. — Turner urges
education. — Dudley’s measure. — O’Farrell’s Bill. — The House
more conservative than the Senate. — Louisiana purchased. — New
England alarmed. — Considers a northern confederacy. — The im¬
portance of the territory. — Robert Williams. — Emigration.

Speaker Macon

Willie Jones having died in 1801 his mantle had fallen
on the shoulders of Nathaniel Macon, the representative
from the Warren district. Besides now for the first time
the speakership of the Federal House of Representatives
was accorded to the South, and Macon was elected Speaker.
As such, he was brought nearer than ever to the President,
and there were close and cordial relations between them.
He was very much of a politician, and thought it best to
appoint to office men in line with Republican policies, and
he cooperated with the President in tendering appointments
to Davie and Steele. Davie had returned from France in
December, 1800. He had not yielded to the solicitations
of his friends to contest the seat in Congress with Willis
Alston, but in January, 1801, he accepted employment from
Governor Williams to establish the line between North and
South Carolina.

MIDNIGHT JUDGES

181

In June Jefferson and Macon offered Davie and Benjamin
Hawkins very considerable employment, on a commission to
negotiate treaties with the southwest tribes of Indians.
Hawkins accepted ; but Davie already had other engage¬
ments. However, in a letter to Steele, in August, Davie
related the circumstances, and said : “My Federal friends
were generally violently opposed to my acceptance, while
those who are attached to the principles of the present ad¬
ministration discovered great anxiety that I should accept
the appointment.” He himself apparently saw nothing to
forbid it, but he declined because of other engagements.
Indeed, one of the matters then uppermost in his thoughts
was to secure the future of his party. He opened up a
correspondence with Steele and others for forming plans to
that end. The result was that the Minerva at Raleigh was
to be sustained by voluntary subscriptions made by a num¬
ber of gentlemen, one of the objects being to counteract
“the wild and visionary projects of Democracy and estab¬
lish the practical principles of Federalism.”

Federal Court

But while Jefferson was seeking to build up his party, he
was not complacent regarding the action of the Adams ad¬
ministration. He regarded the Alien and Sedition Acts as
unconstitutional and manifested his opinion by releasing
men who had been imprisoned under them. The Judiciary
Act had hurriedly been amended by providing for the ap¬
pointment of fifteen circuit judges and other judges as well,
and in the expiring hours of his administration Adams had
appointed many of these judges, known as “midnight
judges.” Among them was William H. Hill, formerly
district attorney, and later a member of Congress from the
Wilmington district and one of the best educated and most
influential of the Federal leaders of the State. This act was
now to be repealed. But before its repeal, under its re¬
quirements, President Jefferson appointed Dominie A. Hall

Davie

Dodd: Life
of Macon,
178, 179

REPUBLICANS IN POWER

1 8 2

Acts 1792,
ch. 1

Circuit
Court at
Bloomsbury

At Raleigh

of South Carolina to be the presiding judge of the circuit
court of the Fifth District, that included North Carolina,
and Hall exhibited his commission at the district court at
Raleigh. When the act was repealed Hall was appointed
to be judge of the district court of Louisiana.

North Carolina in 1790 had been constituted “a district,”
and the circuit and district courts were to be held at New
Bern, Judge Sitgreaves being the district judge. The dis¬
trict courts were to be held at New Bern, Wilmington and
Edenton. At the November term of 1792 the circuit court
was not held.

Under the peculiar situation in 1802, President Jefferson
in May appointed Henry Potter district judge; and on the
same day appointed Edward Harris of North Carolina
judge of the circuit court, and in June they held the last
circuit court under the Adams system in the State. On
July 1 the whole system fell. The law under which the
circuit court judges were appointed being repealed, they
all were legislated out; but Henry Potter, having been ap¬
pointed to the district court in the place of Judge Sitgreaves
who had died, continued as district judge. In June, 1793,
Judge Patterson attended at New Bern and the circuit court
was held there, the last; for by act of March 3, 1793, the
circuit court was “to be held at Wake courthouse until
some convenient accommodation can be had in the city of
Raleigh,” so on November 30, 1793, the court was held in
the courtroom of Wake courthouse, described “as a log
building on the hillside in front” of the Boylan homestead
in Bloomsbury. The circuit court continued to meet in
Bloomsbury until June 1, 1797, when it was opened by
Judge Sitgreaves in the courthouse in the city of Raleigh.
However, Judge Samuel Chase of Maryland, who had been
appointed the year before, did not attend, and no court was
held; but in November, 1797, Judge James Wilson did at¬
tend and the first circuit court was held in the courthouse at
Raleigh. This was on the courthouse lot on Fayetteville

REPUBLICANS ASCENDANT

Street, “of wood, rectangular, of the shape of an old-
fashioned meeting house.” It was used until 1835.

The Assembly

When the Assembly met it was Republican to the core and 1801
the same officers were reelected.

The Assembly was pleased with the result of the act re¬
quiring the judges to confer on undetermined questions
arising on the circuit which had had a beneficial operation,
and as it was about to expire, the act was now extended for
three years longer, and the Assembly gave the court the Conference
name of “The Court of Conference.”

There was at this session a notable change in the law of
inheritance, again favorable to the women; the widow was
declared the heir of the husband who had no relative who
might claim as heir. This operated to prevent escheat.

The agitation against the Judiciary Act with its corps of
new judges had been pressed so vigorously by the Republi¬
can leaders, that the Assembly passed a resolution instruct¬
ing the Senators and recommending the Representatives, to
vote for its repeal ; while the Alien and Sedition Act having
been limited to two years had already passed away. These
instructions presented a question which the Federal leaders ch. Justice
unwisely emphasized into an issue to their discomfiture. Marsha11
On March 8, 1802, Jefferson had the pleasure of signing the
bill repealing the new Judiciary Act and Ihe old system
was now restored, the circuit courts being held by a jus¬
tice of the Supreme Court and the district judge. The
North Carolina circuit was selected by the Chief Justice,

John Marshall, who had been in Adams’s Cabinet and had
been transferred from the Cabinet to the court. He pre¬
sided as chief justice at the February term, 1801, of the
court, but continued to act as Secretary of State until March
3, 1801. He had been a participant in the debates in the Ernst's Pe-
Virginia Convention that adopted the Constitution, and made giniac°n-

0 r _ ’ vention, 394

a very elaborate exposition of the provisions of the proposed

184

REPUBLICANS IN POWER

Marshall’s

influence

Winston :
Hist, of
Hertford, 83

constitution concerning the judiciary. His view was that
announced by Iredell; Marshall’s general opinion was that
the Constitution should be reasonably interpreted, having
in view the objects for which it was adopted. The dis¬
position of some Federalist judges to go to an extreme limit
had already been curbed by the eleventh amendment ; while,
on the other hand, Federalist anxiety and dread of the pos¬
sible action of the Republicans was found to be without
foundation.

The Chief Justice held the circuit courts in North Caro¬
lina, and he was so highly esteemed and respected that the
sharp divergence between the two parties largely subsided.
Party spirit was allayed and the masses gave their confi¬
dence to the administration. In particular was this so in
North Carolina where the great Chief Justice exerted
a beneficial and elevating influence.

During the early part of 1802 Charles Johnson, the Rep¬
resentative in Congress from the Chowan district, died, and
at the August election Gen. Thomas Wynne of Hertford
was elected to the vacant seat. General Wynne, ‘‘able,
wealthy and benevolent,” had for ten years served as Sena¬
tor from Hertford County, and had been a Jefferson elector
and was a staunch Republican. He took his seat December
7, 1802.

Stanly- Spaiglit duel

Governor Spaight, who had been the Senator from
Craven, was again a candidate as a Republican. During the
canvass John Stanly, who was then in Congress, took the
stump to defeat Spaight, although Representatives in Con¬
gress were not to be elected that year. There were frequent
discussions between these great leaders, which became per¬
sonal and bitter. Stanly charged Spaight with dodging,
under the plea of ill health, when the Alien and Sedition
Act was before Congress. Spaight was elected. He re¬
plied to Stanly's charge in a handbill which caused Stanly

REACTION TO DUELING

185

to send a challenge. The meeting took place the same day,
Sunday afternoon, on the outskirts of New Bern, September
5, 1802. On the fourth fire Governor Spaight was mortally
wounded and died the next day. Spaight was then about
50 years of age, a man full of honors and usefulness ;
Stanly was but 27. Criminal proceedings were instituted
against Stanly — but he made such representations to Gov¬
ernor Williams that the Governor pardoned him. To fill
the vacancy caused by Spaight’s death, at a by-election,
William Blackledge was chosen Senator.

The Legislature, shocked at this unfortunate affair, by
which the State was deprived of one of its most esteemed
citizens, immediately passed an act making “ineligible to any
office of trust, honor or profit, any one sending, accepting or
bearing a challenge, and he shall be liable to be indicted,
despite any pardon or reprieve; and in case of a duel, and
either party is killed, the survivor shall suffer death and all
aiding and abetting shall likewise suffer death.” This dras¬
tic legislation doubtless had some effect, but still in time
there were those who risked life on the field and among
them were three other Stanlvs.

Negro insurrections

In September, 1800, there had been a well-prepared
plan for an insurrection at Richmond, Virginia. A slave,
Gabriel Prosser, calling himself “Bonaparte,” was at its
head. Eleven hundred negroes were to assemble six miles
from the city, and being arranged in three bodies were to
march that night and take possession. Success was to be
followed bv a call to arms of all negroes on the continent.
All male white and elderly women were to be slaughtered,
the young white women saved for wives. The plan fell
through, and Gabriel was captured three weeks later on
board a vessel down the James. This attempted rising
caused much apprehension and excitement. Perhaps the
ne^ro insurrection in San Domingo may have had some in-

Duels made
criminal

REPUBLICANS IN POWER

1 86

Sprunt
Mon., XIV,
83, 84

Battle’s
Raleigh ad¬
dress

Moore, II,
438

Graham’s

plan

fluence on the minds of these usually amiable and submis¬
sive slaves. At any rate, serious combinations were dis¬
covered among them in Hertford and Washington counties,
and there were many rumors of negro risings throughout
the northeastern counties which often created a wild panic.

An actual rising in June, 1802, caused great alarm.
Frank Sumners was at the head of it. This discovery
created apprehensions from Tar River to the Atlantic. Vol¬
unteer companies were organized for patrolling and for
arresting suspected persons. At one time 100 men were
locked up in Martin County. Similarly, about the same
time, there was great excitement in Franklin County and
throughout the middle section of the State, and many arrests
were made. The Legislature in consequence, passed a law,
looking to the suppression of negro insurrections ; but the
period of unrest apparently passed away without leaving
any deplorable results to regret.

Ineffectual movements for education

Governor Williams in his last message to the Assembly
called attention to both internal improvements and public
education. “Our inland navigation and the still greater
importance of providing thorough, adequate and suitable
means for a general diffusion of learning throughout the
State . . . a far more estimable end . . . that our

posterity will be enabled at all times and on all occasions,
duly to appreciate and properly understand and defend
their natural, civil and political rights ; in Ane, that with en¬
lightened minds, and the consequent love of freedom, they
will never cease to be free.” This was the Arst suggestion
of general education, but the suggestion fell on unaccus¬
tomed ears and it was then not heeded.

In August, 1802, General Joseph Graham, one of the he¬
roes of the Revolution, proposed an elaborate plan for a
military academy, the State to make provision for the sup¬
port of the students, one student being allowed for each of

SCHOOL PROJECT FAILS

187

the 80 militia regiments of the State. The course of in¬
struction was to be such as to fit the students to be officers
of the militia. Nor was this proposition acted on by the
Assembly. Had the plan been adopted, it doubtless would
have been highly beneficial in its efifects.

Death of Colonel Ashe

This being the close of Governor Williams’s term, Col.
John B. Ashe was elected his successor, but when the Com¬
mittee waited on him at his residence at Halifax, he was
found to be ill ; and in a few days, he died, at the age of
54, much lamented. He had been one of the best officers of
the Continental army and, later, was leader in the Conti¬
nental Congress. Senator James Turner of Warren was
then elected Governor, taking his seat on the first day of
December.

The Tuscarora lands

The Tuscarora Indians had been given a reservation
on the Roanoke River in 1715, when a large number of them
moved to New York, their original region, becoming the
sixth nation there. In 1766, they had leased for fifty years
a part of their land in Bertie County to Robert Jones, the
father of Willie Jones; and now the remaining Indians
wished to lease or dispose of the rest of their land and go
north. The agent of the State arranged for such a lease,
and the Assembly ratified the agreement, one of the condi¬
tions being that the lease was to expire in 1816, along with
the first one ; and then the entire reservation was to become
the property of the State. As this arrangement had to be in
the way of a treaty with the tribe, which could be made only
bv the general government, President Jefferson appointed
Davie a commissioner on the part of the United States, and
the treaty was duly executed at Raleigh, December 4, 1802,
and submitted to the United States Senate February 13,

Turner,

Governor

REPUBLICANS IN POWER

1 88

1803. By this treaty the Tuscarora tribe of Indians ceased
to have any connection with North Carolina.

The defeat of Federal leaders

At the election of August, 1803, Congressmen were to be
chosen. The result proved the bad policy of the Feder¬
alist leaders in making an issue with the Assemblymen in
the matter of recommending the Representatives to vote
for the repeal of the Judiciary Act. The Federal Repre¬
sentatives in Congress had antagonized the Assembly, and
Archibald Henderson, Steele’s brother-in-law, made a
speech voicing the determination of his three Federalist as¬
sociates to ignore the recommendation of the people’s rep¬
resentatives in the Legislature. It sounded the death knell
of those members. The result in its effects on the life of

Davie de- Davie was lamentable. Two years earlier he had declined

f G3/tG(i • .

to contest the seat in Congress with Willis Alston ; but this
year, Mr. Jacocks, a Republican, was in the field against
Alston ; and there seemed to be no doubt that Davie, polling
all of the Federalist strength, could come in between them.
He yielded to the solicitations of his friends and announced
himself. Mr. Macon, now the Speaker of the House, and
close to the President, and at the head of the party in the
State, at once interfered. He succeeded in influencing Mr.
Jacocks to withdraw. Davie made no speeches, but the
campaign against him took a personal cast, and according
to tradition, which, however, cannot always be relied on,
his aristocratic bearing was dwelt on to his prejudice.

Willis Alston himself was a gentleman and a man of such
intellectual force that some years later he was the chairman
of the very important Committee of Ways and Means in the
House of Representatives.

Davie fell a sacrifice to his party. He keenly felt the
blow. Iredell, Judge Sitgreaves, Allen Jones, Willie Jones
and John B. Ashe had died, and Judge Samuel Johnston had
retired from the bench and the Federalists were exiled from

A PATRIOT SELF-EXPATRIATED

189

public places of honor; and Davie was bereft of his wife,
leaving him with a number of young children to care for.
Two years later, having arranged his North Carolina busi¬
ness, he retired to his plantation, Tivoli, on the Catawba
in South Carolina, but he continued to correspond with his
North Carolina friends and he put his daughter in school
at Salem and his sons were educated at the University, of
which he was more largely than any one else, the founder,
and where his name and fame are perpetuated.

North Carolinians preside in Congress

Macon had served so acceptably as Speaker that at the
meeting of the Congress in October, 1803, he was reelected;
while in the Senate on March 10, 1804, Jesse Franklin had
become so highly esteemed that he was chosen president
pro tern, of that body, to preside whenever the Vice-Presi¬
dent was absent, and for a year these highest posts of honor
in the two bodies were held by these North Carolinians.

The House not favorable to education

When the Assembly met Governor Turner followed the
example of his predecessor, declaring: “Too much atten¬
tion cannot be paid to the education of youth, by pro¬
moting the establishment of schools in every part of the
State.” The subject was interesting to others, Christopher
Dudley, the Senator from Onslow, introduced a bill pro¬
viding for a seminary of learning in each district and ap¬
propriating for their use one-half of all moneys arising from
escheats in that district. This bill passed the Senate but
failed in the House. Then Senator O’Farrell introduced a
bill to establish a uniform and general system of education
throughout the State, but while the bill required that acad¬
emies should be established in each county, the only source
of funds mentioned was donations. This also failed in the
House.

Davie moves
to South
Carolina

1803

190

REPUBLICANS IN POWER

Presidential

electors

There was always a chance for some divergence between
the Senators and the Representatives in the House of Com¬
mons although both were to be freeholders. The Senators
were elected only by freeholders ; while for members of the
House any freeman who had paid his taxes could vote.
The electorate for the latter was therefore different and was
virtually based on manhood suffrage. Even free negroes
could vote. Senators had to own three hundred acres of
land, while the qualification of a member of the House
was only fifty acres. The Senate therefore might well have
been the more conservative body; but in the matter of pub¬
lic education it was the House that rejected the proposed
measures. Evidently the less- enlightened people consti¬
tuted the opposition, and it was so likewise as to other
measures proposing improvements.

It was the duty of the Legislature to appoint electors,
and following the North Carolina practice, it passed an act
providing for their election by districts.

The purchase of Louisiana

The year 1803 was marked by an event of great impor¬
tance. Spain held Florida from the Georgia line to the
Mississippi just below Natchez and also Louisiana, extend¬
ing from the Gulf of Mexico northward to Red River, then
west to 1 ooth degree of longitude, then north to the British
dominions. Save a few scattered settlements this vast terri¬
tory was unoccupied and unexplored. Jefferson, without
the sanction of Congress and, in his own opinion, without
constitutional warrant, purchased this wilderness for the
United States. Spain had conveyed Louisiana to France,
the actual possession passing at New Orleans November
30, 1803. On Jefferson’s purchase, the actual possession
was delivered by France at New Orleans on December 20,
1803, France holding the actual possession less than a
month. The delivery was to William Claiborne and Wil-

NEW ENGLAND SCARE SUBSIDES

191

liatn Wilkinson “in the name of the Congress of the
United States.”

The Federalists of New England were alarmed, con¬
ceiving that there would be created states toward the south
that would endanger their welfare in the Union. Some of
them formed the project of dissolving the Union and form¬
ing a northern confederacy. They claimed that the interests
of the northern states required a northern confederacy.
This project was extensively discussed by the members of
Congress from Massachusetts and Connecticut and a meet¬
ing was arranged to be held at Boston in the autumn of
1804. But better counsels prevailed and New England ac¬
quiesced in this purchase. The settlers in Kentucky and
Tennessee and along the Ohio had free a-ccess to the Mis¬
sissippi River and an outlet to the markets of the world
through New Orleans; and the purchase provided the means
of indefinite expansion to the westward free from any in¬
terference by foreign powers. In this view, the acquisi¬
tion of that vast territory was the most important event in
the history of the country except the Declaration of Inde¬
pendence and the formation of the Union. It had its polit¬
ical effect in strengthening Jefferson in the esteem of the
masses ; but the Federalist leaders did not abate their an¬
tagonism.

Robert Williams of Rockingham County was now charged
with the responsible duties of a commissioner to ascertain
the rights of persons claiming land in the Mississippi Ter¬
ritory; and in 1805 he became Governor of that territory,
administering its affairs for four years. Later he settled
at Monroe, Louisiana.

With the opening of this western territory, there began
a movement of population from North Carolina to the west
and northwest, at first hardly observable but gradually in¬
creasing in volume until it reached its culmination in the
decade ending 1840 when the whites did not increase three
per cent and the quarter of a million of blacks showed no
increase at all.

A northern

confederacy

proposed

Papers Am.
Hist. Assn.,
I, 252

Cooley: In.
Hist. Soc.
Pam., No. 3

Effect on

North

Carolina

CHAPTER XIII

Turner's Administration

Jefferson again elected. — Macon’s influence. — Fears propa¬
ganda against slavery. — Does not favor public schools. — Turner’s
efforts in vain. — Cotton and negroes. — Result of cotton gin. —
Cotton mills. — South Carolina reopens slave trade. — Severely
reprobated in North Carolina. — Proposes a constitutional amend¬
ment.- — The problems. — “Persons of color.” — The State Repub¬
lican.- — Stokes elected Senator. — Declines. — Only one Senator. —
The Supreme Court. — The Granville Claim. — Progressive meas¬
ures. — The currency. — The Bank of the United States. — The only
specie foreign coins. — Bank of Cape Fear at Wilmington and
Bank of New Bern. — The State Bank. — Records may be kept in
United States currency. — Absence of transportation facilities. —
The east dominates. — A convention voted down. — Turner Sen¬
ator. — Alexander Governor. — Superior courts held in each
county. — Franklin Senator. — Stone and Lowrie judges. — Women
allowed benefit of clergy.

The election

At the presidential election Connecticut and Delaware
alone voted solidly against Jefferson. In Maryland he lost
two votes ; every other electoral vote was cast for him and
George Clinton of New York, who was a near kinsman of
the North Carolina Clintons of Sampson County. By the
casting vote of Speaker Macon a constitutional amendment
had been submitted to the states, which they adopted, requir¬
ing the electors to vote for the President distinct from the
Vice-President, so although each Jefferson and Clinton re¬
ceived 162 votes a contest like that between Jefferson and
Burr did not arise.

Macon’s influence

The cry of “party” in North Carolina as elsewhere was
now largely hushed. The field was clear for the wise and
progressive men of the State to improve conditions. But
unhappily the leaders were much in love with Macon, who
was even less inclined to progress than Willie Jones had
been. The fundamental basis of Macon’s political creed

AN UNPROGRESSIVE STATESMAN

193

seems to have been that the function of government was
simply to afford protection to individual rights, leaving other
matters to the people themselves. In his view it was not for
the State to engage in works of internal improvement or
to educate the people, but merely to maintain an economical,
honest, efficient government. In Congress he was, first,
for observing the limitations of the Constitution; then for
economy ; and as he had seen many appropriations for im¬
proved facilities wasted, the projects proving abortive, he
held that if anything was worth doing, individuals and pri¬
vate capital would be found to do it.

In particular, he early realized that the propaganda
against African slavery was a menace. As to that he was
seer and prophet. It may be said that he did his own
thinking and, though not a disorganize^ he never suppressed
his intelligence while according to others the right to follow
their own judgment. Although his career in Congress re¬
flected honor on the State it was unfortunate that his states¬
manship as to community matters was not broader, having
for its object to elevate the masses and improve social con¬
ditions. On the other hand, his proudest boast was that
“there was no state in the Union more attached to law and
order than North Carolina.”

Illiteracy

Despite the efforts made to maintain academies and pri¬
vate schools, the mass of the people was growing up illit¬
erate, and Macon held that it was not a function of govern¬
ment to provide educational facilities. He was not alone,
for in the Assembly were many of the first men of the State
and their nonaction was in line with his views.

In vain had Governor Turner emphasized the recom¬
mendation of Governor Williams, in vain had he called on
the Assembly to provide “that the children of the poorest
citizens might have access, at least, to necessary instruction.”

And, in his last message, in 1805, he said: “It is evident
13

194

TURNER’S ADMINISTRATION

that the situation in our State calls for legislative aid” ;
but his voice fell on unresponsive ears ; and so it continued,
each successive Governor, at every session, pressed the sub¬
ject, but without avail.

McCullock:
Commerce,
I. 532

South Caro¬
lina reopens
the slave
trade

1803

Cotton and negroes

The introduction of the gin had already given an impetus
to the cultivation of cotton, which, however, was much
more observable in South Carolina and Georgia than in
North Carolina. Indeed North Carolina was not much
affected by it. In 1792 the entire cotton crop of the South
was only 138,328 pounds, ten years later it had risen to
27,500,000 pounds, and in 1805 to 40,330,000 pounds; but
North Carolina’s crop was only one-tenth of that quantity.
The price was highly remunerative, being about 30 cents,
and in 1798 as much as 40 cents, but after that high water
mark there was a recession.

In England there had long been some cotton mills,
and about 1790 some were erected in Massachusetts; but
these were not similar to the mills later built. Machinery
was for carding and spinning only. The looms were like
those in the homes of the people, hand looms ; and it was
not until 1816 that the power looms were introduced.

Nevertheless while only hand looms were in use the de¬
mand for cotton was now so constant that its culture went
forward with leaps and bounds ; and under its stimulus,
South Carolina in 1803 repealed the prohibition that State, in
common with all other states, had enacted against the
importation of negroes.

In Charleston, it is narrated that every one invested every
dollar he could command in imported negroes, and nothing
else was bought. Although the slave trade was not open
longer than four years, there must have been brought into
Charleston forty thousand negroes. In 1800 Georgia and
South Carolina had but 205,000, and ten years later they
had 301,000, at least forty thousand more than the natural

PROTEST AGAINST SLAVE TRADE

195

increase. This opening of the slave trade was severely
reprobated in North Carolina. When the Assembly met in
November, 1804, Senator William P. Little of Warren in¬
troduced a resolution instructing the North Carolina Sena¬
tors and Representatives in Congress to propose an amend¬
ment to the Constitution prohibiting the slave trade. Gen.
Benjamin Smith from the committee to whom the resolution
was referred reported it back favorably ; and it was adopted ;
and it was ordered to be communicated to the executive of
every state.

North Carolina at that time was not indifferent to the
negro question in the various shapes in which the subject
of the African race was presented; one-third of the popula¬
tion were negroes, and the country was but sparsely set¬
tled. There were influences exerted for emancipation, but
it was not desirable that the number of free negroes should
be increased while the agitation for emancipation unsettled
the negroes held in slavery and led to apprehensions. And
this is to be observed that in all the references to negroes
at that period they were not mentioned as Africans or as
negroes, but as “persons of color” ; such was the usual des¬
ignation in all the laws for many years. And as “persons of
color,” when free, they were “freemen” and were allowed
to vote. At the session of 1804 there was a proposition
that passed the Senate, to prohibit free negroes from voting.
It, however, failed to pass the House. A proposition of a
different tenor prohibiting slaves from hiring their own
time was adopted, while the strong declaration against the
slave trade indicates the attitude of the State as unfavor¬
able to the unnecessary extension of slavery. The situation,
even in those years, was difficult and embarrassing.

North Caro¬
lina protests

Persons of
color

The State with Jefferson

The Assembly was thoroughly Republican. The former
officers were reelected, including Governor Turner; and a
resolution receiving in the Senate, where Federalism was

196

TURNER’S ADMINISTRATION

Senate

Journal,

1804

always stronger than in the House, 32 votes to only 8 in
the negative, was adopted, expressing the highest confi¬
dence in the administration and applauding the purchase of
Louisiana. Indeed, at the election of presidential electors
every district was for Jefferson.

Senator Franklin’s term was now expiring, and he de
dined to be a candidate for reelection. Speaker Cabarrus
and Gen. Benjamin Smith both declined to be candidates.
After several ballots, Gen. Montfort Stokes was elected
Senator. But he did not desire the appointment and de¬
clined it. However, the Assembly was not advised of his
declination before it adjourned; and during the year there
was but one Senator from the State, Judge Stone.

The Supreme Court

At this session of the Assembly the Court of Conference
was retained as a permanent court of record, and the judges
were required to reduce their opinions to writing and to
deliver them in open court ; and it was provided that a single
judge could hold a Superior Court.

The next year the name of the court was changed to
“The Supreme Court,” and the desire of Governor Sam
Johnston was on the eve of accomplishment.

The Granville claim

In 1804 there had been instituted in the circuit court of the
LTnlted States, at Raleigh, a suit of great magnitude. It was
brought by the heirs of Earl Granville against Josiah Collins
and Nathan Allen, and a similar suit against William R.
Davie. The basis of the action was the claim set up under
Granville’s title to the upper part of the State and extending
to the Mississippi River — all the land which in Colonial days
had been held by Granville and which he had not granted to
settlers. Linder the terms of the Treaty of Peace it would
seem that the Granville right and title had been preserved.
But the State contended that by its Constitution, declaring

GRANVILLE CLAIMANTS LOSE

1 97

the boundaries and limits of the State and asserting the sov¬
ereignty of the State therein, it ha*d put an end to all the
rights of the Crown in that domain, and of the Granville
right likewise. In its scope this case was doubtless the most
important ever before a court in the State, and it excited
a great deal of public interest. Mr. John London of Wil¬
mington was the agent of the Earl of Coventry, successor
by devise to Earl Granville. He employed William Gaston
and Edward Harris for the plaintiff. The defendants were
represented by Judge Duncan Cameron, M. Woodsford,
Blake Baker. The title of the case was “Doe on the demise
of George William Coventry and others against Josiah
Collins and Nathaniel Allen; ejectment.” The plea of the
defendants was “common rule,” “not guilty.” On June 18,
1804, Chief Justice Marshall and Henry Potter sitting, a
jury was empaneled, one of the jurors being Joseph Gales.
Evidence was introduced, and a demurrer to evidence be¬
ing tendered and joined, the jury was thereupon discharged.
At the December term, it was moved on behalf of the de¬
fendants that the demurrer to evidence be discharged. This
motion being opposed by plaintiff’s counsel, on argument it
was ordered : “The court will consider further thereon till
next term of court.” At the next term, when the case
was reached, the entry is : “The motion made in this cause
at the last term to discharge the demurrer to evidence being
further argued, it was ordered by his Honor, Judge Potter,
who filed a long and elaborate opinion, (his Honor the Chief
Justice utterly declining to give any opinion thereon) that
the said demurrer be discharged, and that a jury be again
empaneled to try the issue of fact joined between the
plaintiff and defendant in this cause. To which said opin¬
ion and order, counsel for the plaintiff in behalf of the said
plaintiff did then and there in open court except. . . .

The jury find the defendant not guilty of the trespass and
ejectment stated in plaintiff’s declaration. Bill of excep¬
tions filed and ordered to be made part of the record.” The

H. G.

Connor in
Univ. Pa.
Law Review,
Oct., 1914

TURNER’S ADMINISTRATION

198

case went by appeal to the Supreme Court of United States,
but was not prosecuted ; and some years later was dropped.
Such was the termination of this important litigation.

Before the session of 1804 had closed academies were in¬
measures1™ corporated for Greene County, in Moore, at Hyco, and
Smithville and steps were taken to open Fishing Creek, to
cut a navigable canal through the Dismal Swamp from
Camden to Gates, to improve the Yadkin, Little River and
Ocracoke Inlet, and for cutting navigable canals from the
Roanoke to the Meherrin and from Bennetts Creek to the
Nansemond.

The Bank
of U. S.

The currency

Prior to the introduction of banks the ordinary currency
had been foreign silver pieces, particularly the coins struck
off by Spain and its dependencies. The United States coin¬
age laws authorized the mint to strike off both silver and
gold coins ; but no silver had been found in this country and
only a little gold, while the disturbed condition of com¬
merce incident to the European war had resulted in cutting
off our supply of silver. Indeed, the world’s supply of
silver had become so limited that that metal was scarce
and had appreciated more than three per cent, with the effect
of leading to the exportation of our silver dollars, and re¬
ducing our circulation. To stop this, the coinage of the
dollar piece was forbidden, and only fractional currency was
in use. To meet the conditions paper money had to be re¬
sorted to.

A bank had been established by Congress, the Bank of
the United States, that was allowed to open offices in the
several states to handle the government collections ; but no
trace of its usefulness is preserved so far as North Caro¬
lina is concerned. A community without banking facilities
would now be in a deplorable plight, and at this period to
transact financial business the State had to rely on the facil¬
ities offered by the merchants, particularly those of the

FINANCIAL RELIEF

199

seaports. The currency of account was pounds and shil- •
lings, while the currency of the United States was dollars
and cents ; and there being virtually no United States coin
in the marts of commerce, foreign coins were the only specie
in use. But in 1804 the Legislature manifested a com¬
mendable spirit of progress or rather reflected the spirit
that was beginning to pervade the people. Reciting that the
commerce of Wilmington and Fayetteville needed banking
facilities, the Bank of Cape Fear was incorporated to be
opened at Wilmington with a branch at Fayetteville and
with a provision that the State could subscribe for 250
shares of the stock; and another act incorporated the New
Bern Marine Insurance Company and also the New Bern
Bank. These banks were allowed to issue their own notes
as currency, not in excess of three times their capital, and
otherwise limited. This was one of the first movements
looking to the association of capital in community opera¬
tions. It betokened growth, development, a breaking away
from the past, new things in the life of the communities;
and the next year the Legislature chartered the State Bank
of North Carolina, which it was hoped would absorb the
other banks. But at the following session the charter of
the State Bank was repealed : yet only to be reformed and
revived at the session of 1810. By that act, the mother
bank was to be at Raleigh, with members at Edenton, New
Bern, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Tarboro and Salisbury. The
State was to take $250,000 of stock; and notes could be
issued not in excess of $4,8op,ooo over deposits. No other
bank was to be established ; and it was hoped that this new
institution would absorb the banks of Cape Fear and of
New Bern. It was modeled somewhat after the Scotch
banks, but was not particularly authorized to pay interest
on deposits, which was one of the peculiarities of the Scotch
banks. The advantage to the people and to the State of
these new financial institutions was immense. There was
now some hope of substantial improvement.

The curren¬
cy

State banks

1804

1809

200

TURNER’S ADMINISTRATION

Dollars
and cents

In 1809 it was found convenient for accounts and records
to be kept in dollars and cents, instead of pounds and shil¬
lings ; and the Legislature enacted that “hereafter the cur¬
rency of the United States shall be recognized as the lawful
currency of this State, and it may be lawful for the records
to be kept in dollars and cents,” but it was not obligatory.
However, this step tended to eliminate one of the subsist¬
ing differences between North Carolina and the United
States ; the people were getting to have the same unit of
value and to think in dollars and cents.

1805

Conv. Jour¬
nal, 87

The east opposed to progress

Among the palpable and potent drawbacks to progress in
the State was the absence of transportation facilities. The
Legislature had sought to mitigate this evil by having road
laws, by providing that the highways should be kept open,
and by constant legislation in regard to inland navigation.
At the session of December, 1805, the committee to whom
was referred the Governor’s message relating to “inland
navigation, public roads and the education of youth,” re¬
ported that “they are of the opinion that although the situ¬
ation of the State requires legislative aid, yet for the want
of sufficient funds, an interference at this time would be in¬
expedient,” and the House concurred in the report.

Thirty years later in the State Convention, Wellborn,
then well advanced in years, attributed the indifference of
the Assembly to internal improvements to the preponderat¬
ing voice of the east in the legislative halls. He said that
thirty years earlier he had brought the subject of eastern
control before the Legislature, but without avail. They
had replied: “Nature has supplied us with the means of
reaching a good market and we will not be taxed for your
benefit.”

The key to the situation was the dominancy of the east,
and that was secured by the provisions of the Constitution
that could not be changed. December, 1807, Mr. Terrell

HOUSE BUILT FOR THE GOVERNOR

201

offered a resolution that it is expedient to provide by law
for calling a convention to revise and amend the Constitu¬
tion. The House was not of his mind; the vote was only
21 affirmative and 99 in the negative. The effort was
hopeless.

During Turner’s administration the Legislature passed
an act requiring the Governor to reside in Raleigh the en¬
tire year, and a frame house was erected for him on the
southwest corner of Fayetteville and Hargett streets.

Governor Alexander

At the session of 1805, there being a vacancy in the Sen¬
ate, Governor Turner was elected to fill it; and Nathaniel
Alexander was chosen Governor, and “Alexander Martin,
LL.D.,” was elected to preside over the Senate. Governor
Alexander had hardly been inaugurated before he notified
Speaker Martin that he was unable to attend to his duties as
Governor; and thereupon the Senate elected Joseph Rid¬
dick speaker pro tern., while Speaker Martin discharged the
duties of Governor. But that situation did not long con¬
tinue, for soon Governor Alexander was back in his office.

Superior Courts in every county

The year 1806 marked a particular change in the judicial
system. The State was divided into six circuits, and a
Superior Court was to be held twice a year in each county ;
before that the Superior courts had been held in districts
composed of several counties ; and it was burdensome for
the suitors to attend them. Now, one judge rode a cir¬
cuit, and courts were held in every county. That required
an increase of two judges. Senator Stone’s term as Senator
was drawing to its close and Jesse Franklin, who had two
years earlier declined to be a candidate to succeed himself,
now contested Stone’s reelection and again became a Sena¬
tor. Senator Stone and David Lowrie were elected the addi¬
tional judges. Stone thereupon resigned from the Senate

1807

1806

202

TURNER’S ADMINISTRATION

Women
allowed
benefit of
clergy

5 N. C.
Reports, 112

February 17, 1807, and took his seat on the bench. After
that, all of the judges being members of the Supreme Court,
there might have been six in attendance ; but any two consti¬
tuted a quorum for the transaction of business.

A novel question now came before the courts. Elizabeth
Gray was convicted of grand larceny, and there was a doubt
whether a woman was entitled to the benefit of clergy. The
court in conference held that there was no reason why fe¬
males should not be equally entitled as males ; and the Leg¬
islature, to settle the matter, passed an act to that effect
December, 1806; but in the same enactment it was provided
that persons who robbed houses in the daytime should be
excluded from the benefit.

CHAPTER XIV

Steps Toward War

Macon loses speakership. — Refuses Cabinet appointments. —
Jefferson’s measures for peace. — The embargo. — The Assembly
invites Jefferson to stand for a third term. — New England
against the embargo. — Stone Governor. — Gaston. — The Assembly
sustains the administration. — Henderson and Wlright judges. —
Gaston Speaker. — War preparations. — Jacob Henry urges reli¬
gious tolerance. — Embargo gives place to nonintercourse. —
Macon's statesmanship. — Stone’s message. — The press. — Gates
for progress. — Seaton. — France and Great Britain seize our ships.
— Smith Governor. — At Washington. — Hawkins Governor. —
Steele Speaker. — Henry Clay. — The Federalists for England. —
William R. King. — Electors to be chosen by Assembly.— Public
indignation. — Domestic commerce. — 'Wilmington, New Bern. — •
A regiment raised. — Polk Colonel. — Physical phenomena. — The
Declaration of War. — Political differences. — The Republicans
hold the Assembly — Stone Senator. — Stay law. — Steamboats. —
Death of Mrs. Alston.

Macon

Mr. Macon had had a distinguished career as Speaker of
the House. He had been a strong leader for states’ rights
under the Constitution and for the Southern interests and
for suppressing the agitation born of the continuance of
slavery at the South. He ever had an independent mind;
and likewise, he had some eccentricities.

In 1802 Macon, on intimate terms with the President, had
advised him to purchase Florida. Two years later, the
President asked for an appropriation of two million
dollars to make the purchase. Randolph, the chairman of
the Committee of Ways and Means, Macon’s appointee and
Macon’s friend, would not cooperate. The President
turned to Varnum of Massachusetts, Macon’s competitor in
the House, and Varnum got it for him. There were other
causes of divergence. At length, when the Congress of
1807 was expiring, the Republicans still being in control,
Macon realized that he would not be again chosen Speaker.
He was out of tune with those who had looked up to him
from the floor of the House for six years. To avoid being

1807

Dodd :
Macon, 201

204

STEPS TOWARD WAR

Dodd:
Macon, 219

Ibid., 216

Impressment

1808

The

embargo

present when the Juggernaut car was to parade, he remained
at his home in Warren, until Congress had been in session
a month and Varnum, his old competitor, had grown ac¬
customed to the Speaker’s chair, and even then it was some
considerable time before he manifested interest in the de¬
bates. While he was Speaker Virginia and North Carolina
had a dominating influence on the general policies of the
country — now Massachusetts ruled the House. But Macon
was of such consequence that the President had no wish to
ignore him, and indeed they had ever had much in common
and Jefferson was under lasting obligations to North Caro¬
lina. Twice the President offered him a seat in the Cabinet;
and twice he put aside the proffered honor.

All Europe was at war, on land and water. New Eng¬
land’s ship-building industries had become extensive and
the sails of her vessels whitened every sea. Her enter¬
prising mariners were absorbing the carrying trade and
giving comfort to Britain’s enemies. Britain claimed the
services of all her subjects and took them where she found
them, especially her seamen on board American vessels.
Jefferson, not a warrior, but of the closet and, desiring to
preserve peace, sought to induce Britain to desist by peace¬
ful measures. An act was passed in April, 1806, prohib¬
iting the importation of British goods; however, Jefferson,
as well, proposed measures of defense.

At first Macon, on the floor, was not in accord with the ad¬
ministration, but later when an embargo was proposed, and
an army was to be raised, he fell into line. By the Embargo
Act of December 22, 1807, no vessel was to be cleared for
any foreign port whatever. Commerce ceased. Hushed
were the busy wharves. The merchants closed their doors.
The seamen’s vocation was gone. Industry was stagnant.
Only the manufactures of New England and Pennsylvania
found a ready sale. The products of the plantation had no
purchasers. The Southern planters were hit hard. It was
at that time, however, that the making of salt was renewed

PERIOD OF UNREST

205

along the coast, and the looms at home were busy supplying
clothing. But privations and loss and suffering were borne
because they were in the interest of peace; and while there
were some divisions the mass of the people sustained the
President.

At the election, the Republicans held their own. When
the Assembly met, Joshua G. Wright, who had represented
the borough of Wilmington for many years, became the
Speaker of the House ; and although Governor Alexander
sought reelection, Williams was chosen. The conditions
were so serious that disregarding the example Washington
had set, the Assembly, in an address to Jefferson, invited
him to allow his name to be presented for a third term. In
the House Gaston opposed this resolution, but it was
adopted by a vote of 83 to 35. Jefferson, however, did not
assent.

At the next session of Congress matters of great interest
were in the minds of the members : was it to be peace or
war? Jefferson not being a candidate, there were several
factions, proposing Monroe, Madison, Gallatin and others.
Macon had joined none of them. Madison was brought for¬
ward, with Clinton of New York for the vice-presidency.
Jefferson’s peace policy was approved by the masses; New
England, suffering from the embargo, alone did not concur.
Madison swept the other states, but the embargo was deeply
felt, while preparation for war was necessarily made. Such
were the conditions when the Legislature of the State as¬
sembled. Stone was elected Governor, his retirement from
the bench causing a vacancy. Then Judge Spruce McCay
had died, and although the Governor had given a tem¬
porary appointment to Blake Baker, that vacancy was also
to be filled.

The former speakers were retained. In the House, Gas¬
ton now in his second term, was the member of the first
consequence. His superiority was evident. The respect
accorded him was notable. It was not merely his superior

Benj.

Williams

Governor

The

presidency

Stone

Governor

Gaston

206

STEPS TOWARD WAR

Biog. W.W.
Seaton, 23

The

Republicans

1808

Gaston

Speaker

intelligence,- but his personality that distinguished him. A
description of some local theatricals at Raleigh about that
time runs this way : “There sat the learned, genial Gaston,
who was equally happy in a sentimental song and convivial
chorus, or in racy anecdote; unbending from his usual staid
reserve was Nathaniel Macon, whose name has stood as
a sort of proverb for honesty, while greater still in 'his
charming gentleness, was the wise, benevolent, Chief Jus¬
tice Marshall, who undisguisedly wept over the woes of
Jane - Shore or laughed with boyish glee until the tears
fairly rolled down his cheeks.”

Gaston had the accomplishments as well as the intellect
and learning. On the floor of the House he was, in ordi¬
nary business, largely the ruling spirit. One of his memor¬
able achievements was the reform of the laws of descents,
his report being admirable, but he was not in line with the
Jeffersonians. The Senate passed resolutions strongly sus¬
taining the embargo. In the House, Gaston offered a sub¬
stitute, patriotic, but of a different tenor. For several days
the debate continued. The House stood 79 to 29 against
Gaston. In the Senate the vote had been 37 to 15. These
figures well indicated the woeful minority of the Federals
and the overwhelming attachment of the people to the ad¬
ministration. Still, while patriotic ardor ran high, when
replying to the call for troops, Gen. Benjamin Smith having
proposed that the State would arm them and furnish ar¬
tillery, the House declined, contenting itself with declaring
that the State’s quota would be ready.

To succeed the lamented McCay, his brother-in-law,
Leonard Henderson, likewise a man of distinguished abili¬
ties, was elected, and to replace Stone, Joshua G. Wright, the
Speaker of the House, was chosen. A man of very superior
excellence in the profession, Wright resigned as a member
of the House, thinking that the constitutional separation of
the judicial and legislative departments required his resigna¬
tion. Immediately, the members of the House unanimously

WARLIKE PREPARATIONS

207

chose Gaston for Speaker. It was a compliment that re¬
flected as much honor on the body as on Gaston. Gaston
differed from many other men distinguished for high in¬
telligence, learning and character, as the diamond differs
from other gems of great value.

On March 30, 1808, Congress, in view of the aggressions
of Great Britain and France, had authorized the President
to call for a detachment of 100,000 militia, and Governor
Stone informed the Legislature that the Secretary of War
had notified him that North Carolina’s quota would be 8,071
and steps should be taken to officer and equip that force
for service.

The State had quite a number of heavy cannon and Gen¬
eral Smith was directed to propose to the War Department
to exchange some of these for brass field pieces. Later
the War Department declined, saying it had no authority to
make the exchange.

Beligious tolerance

In 1808, Jacob Henry was elected to the House from
Carteret. He was a Hebrew and did not accept the New
Testament. It is possible that he was a member of a dis¬
tinguished Philadelphia family, Gratz, one of whom, Re¬
becca Gratz, somewhat later became the original of Rebecca
in Ivanhoe. During that session he contracted the ill will
of another member; and being elected again in 1809, this
member objected to his qualifying under the Constitution.
Henry addressed the House in his own behalf, his speech
being on the general subject of religious tolerance, but he
laid stress on the legal proposition that the provision of the
Constitution was not applicable to the Representatives ; the
right of a constituency to choose their representative was
not to be abridged. On that he won. This speech was so
superior that for several generations parts of it were em¬
bodied in books of elocution used in the academies of the
country.

208

STEPS TOWARD WAR

Noninter¬

course

Macon’s

attitude

The Embargo Act was continued in operation until just as
Jefferson was surrendering his office to Madison, when with
the sanction of Congress, he substituted for it noninter¬
course with Great Britain and France, as these two coun¬
tries alone were at the bottom of our commercial troubles;
and, indeed, presently it was suspended as to Great Britain
by Madison, but a few months later was renewed. It was
during this period that Macon participated most largely in
these important matters. As chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, he held a dominating position. He ever
worked to avoid war, but he could not brook the attitude
of France and of England.

By the act interdicting intercourse with Great Britain and
France passed March i, 1809, both that act and the Embargo
Act were to cease to operate at the end of the next session
of Congress. Subjects of such vital interest were left for
the newly chosen Representatives to consider.

Congress was called together in May and sat for a month,
but legislation was deferred until the November session.
Then Macon demonstrated his statesmanship. His bill ex¬
cluded both the ships of war and ships of commerce of
Great Britain and France from our ports. French and
English goods were to be brought into this country only in
American vessels loaded at English and French ports. The
President was to remove' these restrictions as to either
country whenever that country repealed its unfriendly reg¬
ulations regarding our commerce. The bill was short of
war and held out the olive branch. It passed the House,
but in the Senate it was emasculated. When it came back
to the House Macon denounced the Senate amendments
as “a total dereliction of national honor, a base submission
to the oppressions of the belligerents, a disgraceful aban¬
donment of our policy of resistance.” The House stood
with Macon ; the Senate would not yield. The bill was
lost. The House now passed against Macon’s vote an
act reestablishing intercourse with both countries, but if

STONE’S RECOMMENDATIONS

209

either should repeal its unfriendly regulations, then inter¬
course with the other was to be interdicted by proclamation
of the President.

Stone’s message

When the Assembly met in November, Governor Stone in
a message of extreme verbosity and attenuated composition,
descanted on almost every phase of state life that could
claim the attention of the Assembly. He dwelt on the subject
of education, of schools, of improved roads and inland
navigation and, in view of the high cost of goods and the
low value of farm products, he urged that manufacturing
should be fostered by legislation. And since the case brought 1809
by Granville’s heirs had been determined in the circuit court
against the interest of the citizens interested and was on
appeal to the Supreme Court where he apprehended that the
decision would be confirmed, he suggested that the State
should provide a fund to reimburse those who might lose
their holdings under the State’s title. He called attention
to the depreciation of the currency through the over-issue of
bank notes and urged some measures of relief. Later he
communicated that the line between the State and South
Carolina had been fixed, subject to ratification by the re¬
spective legislatures.

The press

While there were annually elections and canvasses with
speeches on the hustings, the press, then as since, was
the great medium of disseminating information.

Hodge, who had presses at several points, died in August,

1805, and William Boylan, his nephew and partner, con- 1809
tinued the business, keeping a large book store in Raleigh,
and, well trained by his competent uncle, proving a worthy
antagonist of Joseph Gales. Gales, likewise had a book
store, as he had had in England, and was a publisher of

books. Among his publications were several editions of a
14

210

STEPS TOWARD WAR

Seaton

and

Gales

National

Intelligencer

reprint of Haywood’s Manual, and in 1804 a well- written
novel, Matilda Berkeley, his wife being the author, giving
a view of society and high life in England. Gales had
worn well, and had established himself in the respect and
confidence of his political friends. In fact he was a leader
of the Republicans, but one whom they were slow to follow
in his progressive views. There was a divergence between
him and Macon as to the functions of government, and the
politicians in the Assembly adhered to Macon.

Asserting that every other state had established a state
bank, Gales had urged North Carolina to establish one, and
eventually was successful. He was an advocate for home
manufactures, urging the citizens of Raleigh to build a
factory, and he offered prizes for the best cloth made in
the State. He advocated the establishment of an insurance
company, and strongly favored public improvements. In¬
deed, he was ever in line with those who were utilizing
the instrumentalities of advanced civilization to foster the
conveniences of life and to promote the prosperity of the
community. His propositions to abolish imprisonment for
debt, to establish a penitentiary, and to mitigate the severe
penal code found a supporter in Governor Smith, who
urged these measures, but without avail.

In 1807, W. W. Seaton, a young Virginian of distin¬
guished connections, purchased Hodge’s North Carolina
Journal at Halifax, and turned it into a Republican paper
with the effect of strengthening the Republican party in
that section. Two years later he joined at Raleigh Gales,
whose daughter he married. In the meantime Gales’s son,
Joseph, had become a partner in the publication of the
Intelligencer at Washington City; and in October, 1812,
Seaton joined the younger Gales at Washington; and the
two Raleigh men, Seaton and Gales, published the National
Intelligencer that in the decades to come exerted the highest
power known to the press in this country.

AMERICAN SHIPPING SUFFERS

211

In 1810, Federal papers were printed at Raleigh, Wil¬
mington, New Bern, Edenton, and Fayetteville; and at
Raleigh, New Bern and Elizabeth City were Republican
papers ; while the Star , published by Henderson at Raleigh,
and the Journal at Halifax, were considered neutral. The
Federalists had the advantage in the number of publications.

Macon’s bill

In Congress, Macon, being averse to war, hoped to avoid
it. He now brought forward a measure that he thought
might have a beneficial effect.

Representative McBryde, from the Moore district, wrote
July 27, 1810: “We have been engaged for some time
in the discussion of a commercial bill reported by a com¬
mittee of which Mr. Macon was chairman. Its principal
objects are to repeal the nonintercourse law, to interdict
the vessels of Great Britain and France from our ports and
harbors, to confine our vessels to a direct trade, and to
prohibit the indirect or circular trade. There are nearly
forty Federal members in the House, of whom only five
voted for the bill on its second reading. (John Stanly and
McBryde were among the number.) It was only carried
by a majority of seventeen. The war men are violently
opposed to it. They say it is submission. The eastern men
(who were opposed to any drastic measures) say that
England will retaliate the measure by corresponding re¬
strictions.” So the year wore on, with the country in a dis¬
turbed condition, and apprehension of war being in the
minds of the people. Great Britain and France, holding
the states in contempt because of our weakness, were
seizing American ships on the high seas ; first and last,
Great Britain captured over 900, and France over 550. If
Jefferson had been lenient towards the French, Madison was
equally undemonstrative against the British. But Ameri¬
can spirit was not indifferent. Manhood asserted its sway.
Still in North Carolina the people followed Macon and

July, 1810

Hoyt :
Murphey,
I, 35

Our ships
taken

212

STEPS TOWARD WAR

1810

Biog. Hist.,
IX, 404

continued to stand with the administration. At the election
for Congress in 1808 John Stanly, a Federalist, had beaten
Blackledge in the New Bern district; but in 1810, Gaston
being the Federalist candidate, Blackledge regained his
seat by a majority of 500 votes.

Smith progressive

When the Assembly met in November, 1810, Gen. Ben¬
jamin Smith was chosen Governor over Stone. At the
moment, war seemed inevitable. But Governor Smith cen¬
tered his thoughts on State affairs and brought forward
matters of a remedial character for consideration. He
recommended the adoption of a penitentiary system, and
appealed for a reform of the too sanguinary code of the
State; recommended domestic manufactures, and insisted
that too much attention could not be paid to the all-
important subject of education. “A certain degree of educa¬
tion should be placed within the reach of every child in
the State. ... I am persuaded,” he said, “that a plan
may be formed upon economical principles which will extend
this boon to the poor of every neighborhood, and at an
expense trifling beyond expectation when compared with the
incalculable benefits from such a philanthropic system”; and
he continued to urge the establishment of public schools,
from public considerations. But as yet the Legislature was
not ready to break away from the past, and public educa¬
tion was a novelty.

At Washington

Naturally all eyes were turned on Washington, where the
great issues were to be decided. Difficult indeed was the
situation; with England and France disregarding our rights;
treating our country contemptuously, considering us too
weak to repel insults ; and our counsels divided, a war party
and peace men not agreeing on measures.

APPREHENSIONS OF DISTRESS

213

In January, 1811, McBryde wrote: “The great point to
which our attention is turned at present is the bank and a
nonimportation bill. This measure (the refusal to re¬
charter the bank) will be attended by alarming conse¬
quences. You can have no idea of the consternation that
prevails in all the large towns. It is confidently affirmed
that it will withdraw more than twenty millions of circulat¬
ing paper, for some time at least, and that it will, of course,
bankrupt thousands.”

As to the nonimportation proposition, he said: “If this
law passes our produce must sink to nothing. There will
be no money to buy, and no man can tell who to trust. . . .
The northern merchants will press immediately for their
debts. In short, I look for nothing but confusion and
distress.”

On the bank question Alston, McBryde, Pearson, Stan¬
ford and Stanly stood for rechartering. But in the House
it failed by a single vote, and in the Senate a similar bill
failed only by the casting vote of the Vice-President.

At the next session the Assembly reelected its former
speaker; but William Hawkins, the Speaker of the House,
was chosen Governor, and to take his place, the House fol¬
lowed the fine example set in 1809. It elected Speaker one
of the minority, John Steele, the representative of the bor¬
ough of Salisbury. Steele was worthy of the honor.

Governor Hawkins was nearly twenty years the junior
of General Smith, whom he succeeded, being just thirty-four
when elected Governor; but he had much practical experi¬
ence in affairs. Of him, it has been said, “He was brave
when bravery was needed, but the ‘small, sweet courtesies
of life’ shone brightly in his daily intercourse.”

As the measures in Congress involved the weal or woe
of the country, party spirit was running high. The drift
of opinion was for war. Henry Clay of Kentucky had
served a session in the Senate of 1806; and again in 1810,
and was now a Representative. He was of the war party,

Dodd, 269

1811

Hawkins

Governor

Clay for
war

214

STEPS TOWARD WAR

Car. Fed.
Rep., Jan
11, 1812

W. R. King

and was urgent for war with Great Britain. As such he
was elected Speaker of the House when it met in November,
i8ii. The current ran against Madison, who was being
overborne in his peace policy. The Federalists had always
favored England rather than France, and they were very
reluctant to break with Great Britain. Their sentiment
found expression in the Carolina Federal Republican that
had been established at New Bern in 1809. It was argued
that war with Great Britain might result in the bombard¬
ment of every town on the seacoast. “But, even if in
mercy, she should not bombard our towns but content her¬
self with sweeping every American sail from the ocean and
blockading all our ports, this would bring on a scene of
disaster hardly to be described.”

Nor were the Republican congressmen from the State a
unit in supporting the administration. But at this session
a new member, young and virile, appeared in the delegation
to strengthen the war party, William R. King of Sampson.
His father was a patriot of the Revolution, a gentleman of
fortune and character. Educated at the University, trained
as a lawyer by the eminent William Duffy of Fayetteville,
and associated with the thoughtful men of the Cape Fear,
he threw his weight on the side of resisting British aggres¬
sion. It was badly needed, for the North Carolina delega¬
tion was no longer Republican. Blackledge, Macon, Me-
shack Franklin, the sterling brother of Senator Franklin,
stood almost alone when King raised his voice for war.
Richard Stanford of Person, who had followed Randolph
in his vagaries, made a strong speech against war, and
King hotly replied: “Sir, the demon of avarice which be¬
numbs every warm emotion of the soul, has not yet gained
the ascendancy in the South. . . . Sir, I will not yield

an inch of ground when, by so doing, I destroy an essential
right of my country, or sap the foundations of that inde¬
pendence cemented bv the blood of our fathers. We were
told by a gentleman from Virginia (Randolph) a few days

COMMERCE OF STATE PORTS

215

since that we have sufficient cause for war. I ask you then,
why do we hesitate ? Shall we always yield ? The adoption
of this resolution is the touchstone, by it we rise or fall.”
He concluded by denouncing the policy of his colleagues,
“who still advocated compromise and peace.” This was the
beginning of a career that gave King a high place among
the most distinguished public men contributed by North
Carolina to our country.

The increasing opposition to the administration measures
made the leaders in the Assembly apprehensive lest Madison
might lose some votes in the electoral college, and to avert
that the act of 1802, providing for the election of electors
by districts, was repealed, and the following Legislature was
authorized to choose the electors.

This action was roundly denounced by the Federalists.
“A sacred privilege has been forcibly torn from the people
by the arbitrary will of a desperate majority. . . . Thirteen
years ago such an assumption of power would have produced
rebellion and bloodshed.” At the spring term of the courts
some of the grand jurors made presentment of the act as a
grievance. Iredell County began it, and requested the court
to order their presentment published; and the court so or¬
dered. Then Cumberland, Richmond, Rowan, Pitt, Franklin,
Greene, Caswell and Montgomery followed suit. And John¬
ston, also; but Judge Lowrie declined to order the publi¬
cation. Feeling ran high in the State.

As the embargo and nonintercourse acts did not apply to
domestic commerce, so the trade of our ports with those
to the north was not affected. At Wilmington, which was
the shipping point for produce brought from the interior
to Fayetteville, it was continued as usual. And so, at New
Bern and the other sound ports ; and about two-thirds of our
commerce went through Ocracoke. On January 11, 1812,
the Federal Republican mentions as entering New Bern —
one vessel from New York, one from Charleston, and two
from Beaufort, and as clearing, four for New York, one for

Dodd : Life
of Macon,
p. 276

The grand
juries

Commerce

2l6

STEPS TOWARD WAR

New Bern

1812

Physical

phenomena

Charleston, one for Bermuda, and one for Antigua. And
so it continued.

In that period, however, to supply salt, works were es¬
tablished here and there along the coast. Those on the
sound near Wilmington proved highly remunerative ; and
notwithstanding some cessation after the war, the product in
1815 was more than thirty thousand bushels.

The trade of New Bern was very important, only ex¬
ceeded by that of Wilmington, which included the imports
destined for the back country through Fayetteville. In the
spring of 1812 corn was selling at New Bern at 40 to
45 cents; cotton at 10 to 12 cents; flour $7.00 a barrel;
bacon 10 cents and tobacco 3 cents. And at that time there
were offered for sale for cash or barter for corn, 54 bags
of coffee at 16 cents, 18 barrels of Muscavado sugar at 12
cents; 10 barrels loaf sugar at 21 cents; 20 boxes choco¬
late 22 to 30 cents; 10 hogsheads molasses at 58 cents a
gallon and 2 pipes of cognac brandy at $3.00 a gallon.
They also had at New Bern a living elephant and a beauti¬
ful African leopard; and a piano was offered for sale.
Often half a dozen vessels arrived during the day, and an
equal number cleared ; chiefly the trade was with New York.

Preparation

In February, 1812, in preparation for war, a regiment was
to be raised in the State, and William Polk, a veteran of the
Revolution and resident of Raleigh, was appointed colonel
of the regiment; James Welborn of Wilkes, lieutenant-
colonel ; A. F. McNeil of Wilmington, second lieutenant-
colonel ; Benjamin White of Craven, first major, and
Thomas Taylor of Granville, second major.

The year 1812 opened with ominous signs of war. Often
had physical phenomena been associated with great human
events. Three suns seen in the heavens preceded the final
outbreak that was closed by Charles the First losing his
head ; and three suns were observed one afternoon in North

SIGNS IN HEAVEN AND EARTH

2iy

Carolina just before President Lincoln called for troops in
April, 1861.

There was a very severe earthquake on the morning of
December 23, especially violent towards Charleston; then
on February 7, 1812, at four in the morning New Bern
was greatly disturbed by a violent rocking for two minutes ;
and again at eleven that night there was another of nearly
equal force; and two weeks later Mecklenburg County was
visited by a disturbance of great violence.

And it was in January, 1812, that a veracious newspaper
writer endowed with a fine imagination described with
great particularity, “great smoke issuing from Spears
Mountain, great noise; a volcano had burst forth on the
French Broad ; still continues to burn with great violence,
throwing out lava, etc.,- with most tremendous noise in
Buncombe,” of which President Jefferson made a historic
note not complimentary to North Carolina.

In Congress the question of war was the great issue.
Speaker Clay was insistent, Madison yielded, and on June 1,
he sent to Congress a message for war with Great Britain.
Pennsylvania, a manufacturing state, and the agricultural
states of the South gave 62 votes for the declaration and 32
against it. The mercantile states at the North gave 17 for
the war, and 32 against it. The sentiment of the sections
was evident; New England was opposed, and not all of
the Southern Republicans were in favor of the measure.
The declaration was made by the President on June 19.

Six months after Hawkins became Governor, on the
23d of June, an express messenger brought him the in¬
formation of the declaration, and his service as Governor
covered the entire period of the war. After the declaration
a new issue was brought into discussion in the State. Be¬
fore that there had been apprehensions : now war had come.
Not merely were there the normal differences between the
Federals and Republicans, the outs and the ins, the war men
and the peace men, those who favored England and those

The

declaration
of war

June

1812

2l8

STEPS TOWARD WAR

The Anti-
Electorals

DeWitt

Clinton

still in rebellion against the old mother country; but there
was another potent political war cry. The Republicans to
secure the election of Madison had taken from the people
their right to vote. The people were disfranchised. By
the act of December, 1811, the presidential electors were
to be chosen by the Assembly. Gaston petitioned the Gov¬
ernor to convene the Assembly in special session to undo
this arbitrary evil, but it was too late. The presentments
made by the grand jurors only voiced the indignation that
inflamed the popular heart. At the election in August
James Mebane, the Senator from Orange who had intro¬
duced the measure, was opposed by Archibald D. Murphey,
who now entered on a political career. Murphey was a
Republican, and still proposed to stand by Madison; but
he was a leader in the Republican opposition to this meas¬
ure, and he had many in cooperation. Most of those who
had supported the measure in the Assembly were now op- ’
posed by “Anti-Electoral’’ Republicans aided by the Fed-
erals, and fell by the wayside. The result was disastrous to
them. Many were retired, Mebane was defeated two to
one. Sixty Federals were elected, among them Gaston,
Steele, Stanly, and other old-time leaders ; but the Repub¬
licans still held the Assembly.

When the Assembly met Hawkins was reelected Gov¬
ernor. General Riddick, who had long been Speaker of
the Senate, had died during the year. He was replaced
by George Outlaw of Bertie, a gentleman of “great seren¬
ity and address,” so endowed as to be ever popular, and he
was highly esteemed as the Moderator of the Chowan
Baptist Association ; while in the House, William Miller
of Warren was chosen to preside. George Clinton of New
York was the Vice-President elected four years earlier
with Madison; DeWitt Clinton of New York had deserted
Madison and was taken up by the Federals as their candi¬
date for President. In the Legislature the vote for Madi-

A TRAGEDY OF THE SEA

219

son electors was 130; for DeWitt Clinton only 60; the Re¬
publicans had more than two to one.

The Assembly, responsive to the popular demand, how¬
ever, by a large majority in both branches passed a reso¬
lution to lay off the State into fifteen districts, and likewise
proposed to Congress an amendment to the Constitution to
establish a uniform mode of choosing electors by districts,
and on February 15, 1813, that resolution was being dis¬
cussed by the United States Senate ; but the better opinion
of that generation seems to' have been that the organic law
should not unnecessarily be altered. The Constitution was
not to be lightly changed.

David Stone, as a war man, was chosen Senator to suc¬
ceed Jesse Franklin, who had defeated him six years earlier,
although Stone later . declared that he had not desired the
position.

A stay law was passed forbidding the issue of executions
until 1814 in cases where security was given; and it was
a busy session, there being 129 acts passed.

Steamboats were now in use at the North. Stevens & Co.,
Stevens having been a former partner of Fulton, were
engaged in building them and trying to obtain the exclusive
right to use them on available waters. They applied at this
session of the Assembly for the exclusive privilege of using
them in North Carolina. Their application was granted for
twenty years, “provided they would put on one every two
years.” That in twenty years would have required ten
boats, and the condition was not attractive, so it does not
appear that it was accepted.

The tragedy of Mrs. Alston

While the Assembly was in session there occurred a
horrible murder on our coast. In December, 1812, Aaron
Burr sent a pilot boat, the Patriot , from New York to
Charleston to bring his daughter, Theodosia, wife of Gov-

1813

The

aftermath

Biog. Hist.,
IV, 426

Steamboats

1812

220

STEPS TOWARD WAR

ernor Alston of South Carolina (grandson of Gen. John
Ashe) to New York.

Timothy Green, an intimate friend of Governor Alston’s
family, sailed in the pilot boat for the purpose of accom¬
panying Mrs. Alston on her voyage. From the time they
sailed from Charleston December 30, no tidings whatever
was heard of the vessel or of any one on board. Seven
years passed before the mystery was cleared up. In the
Raleigh Register, June 30, 1820, was this announcement:
“A gentleman recently from New Orleans has communicated
to a friend of the family of the late Mr. Greene that two
of the pirates lately sentenced to suffer death at New
Orleans confessed that they composed part of the crew
of the above pilot boat, Patriot; that after being at sea
two or three days, and near the shore, they rose upon the
captain and passengers, and confined them’ below — when
they stood close in shore, and after plundering the passengers
of a considerable sum of money and plate, belonging mostly
to Mrs. Alston, they launched the boat and scuttled the ves¬
sel, which soon filled and went down, with the unfortunate
inmates confined below. This dreadful tragedy was per¬
formed in the dead of night. The wretches succeeded in
reaching the shore with the boat, and had thus far escaped
detection and punishment for this horrible crime.”

In 1820, and earlier and later, there were many trials for
piracy at New Orleans. Pirates infested the Gulf of Mex¬
ico. These men mentioned above were taken as pirates for
deeds then recently committed and, after conviction, told
of the murder of Mrs. Alston. Of her death they perhaps
would never have known had they not had personal knowl¬
edge. Before that she was supposed to have perished in
some other way. The story bears the earmarks of truth.

Fifty years later, in 1869, Dr. William G. Pool at¬
tended a sick woman at Kitty Hawk on the banks near Nags
Head, and in compensation for his services she gave him
a painting then hanging in her room. It was the picture of

MEMENTO OF TRAGEDY

221

a lady on polished mahogany, twelve inches in length and
enclosed in a frame richly gilded. With reluctance she said
that many years before a vessel with sails set had been
wrecked on the beach, no person being aboard, and that
some one who found this picture in the cabin had preserved
it. A photograph of this picture was submitted to Mrs.
Wheeler, the wife of Col. John H. Wheeler, the historian,
who on comparing it with a miniature of Theodosia Burr,
found them so similar that she, a daughter of Sully, and
herself an artist, recognized it as a portrait of Mrs. Alston.

Pool, Lit. on

Albemarle,

CHAPTER XV

1813

The War Opens

The militia. — Military conditions. — The Stanly-Henry duel. —
The British fleet arrives in Chesapeake. — The Snap Dragon. —
The first prize. — Judge Harris dies. — Federal leaders. — Gaston’s
position. — The Federalists gain. — Macon inconsistent. — Davie de¬
clines to serve. — Beaufort blockaded. — New Bern alarmed. —
The British at Ocracoke. — Preparations for defense. — The militia.
— At Raleigh. — The ladies active. — General Jones. — Governor
Hawkins — Great activity. — Munitions supplied — Beaufort garri¬
soned, Wilmington and all the country stirred. — The fleet sails
away. — The enterprise of the people. — The Clarendon Steamboat
Company. — Stages to Portsmouth. — Lincoln’s cotton mill and iron
manufactures. — Gaston’s speech. — Conditions. — The Frolic and
the Wasp. — Coast defenses. — The Snap Dragon. — Blakely. — The
Wasp. — Reverses on land. — The Federals exult. — Chippewa. —
Lundy’s Lane. — Benjamin Forsyth. — The State adopts his son
and Ulna Blakely. — Fort Mimms. — General Graham. — North Caro¬
lina troops at Norfolk. — The British fleet. — Stone’s retirement.
— Miller Governor, Cameron Judge, and Locke elected Senator.

The militia

For military purposes each county was divided into militia
districts, every district having its own militia company,
which with the Others formed the county regiment. The
regiments of several adjoining counties formed a brigade.
The Legislature elected the generals and field officers and
the organization, supervised by the Adjutant-General, was
carefully kept up. Besides there were in many counties
organized and disciplined military companies, generally
cavalry, ready for active service on emergency. The militia
companies and regiments were required by law to meet and
muster every year. The militia districts were the only
units of county organization. So when the committees of
safety were to be chosen on the outbreak of the Revolu¬
tion, they were elected by military districts. On muster
days all persons liable to military service had to meet, be
enrolled and muster. General Davie wrote a volume on
military tactics, which was adopted and in use and doubt-

MILITIA ORGANIZED

223

less at the musters there was drilling, so that the militia had
some slight acquaintance with military discipline and com¬
mands. The militia therefore was in some measure an or¬
ganized military force. It is to be mentioned that the free
negroes were required to attend musters until relieved of
that duty. On different occasions because of threatened
negro insurrections, the militia of several counties were
called out. When the tocsin of war sounded in 1812 the
militia regiments of several counties were embodied and
saw active service.

Conditions for defense

After the war fever of 1798 had subsided but little had
been done to improve the fortifications on the coast, but
when the irritation with France and England became pro¬
nounced the militia was organized ; and General Smith, who
had a large number of negroes, entered in 1805 into a
contract with the government to erect a sepia stone case¬
mate fort on the site of the old Fort Johnston, under the di¬
rection of army engineers. The fort in 1805 was under
the command of Lieut. John Fergus of Bladen County,
and in that year Capt. Joseph Gardner Swift, the first grad¬
uate of West Point, was sent to have the fortifications com-

pleted. Other points also had received some attention ;
the militia had been organized by Adjt. Gen. Edward
Pasteur of New Bern; and on his resignation in June, 1808,

Calvin Jones of Wake County became Adjutant General and
addressed himself to his duties with zeal and energy, and
he continued this acceptable service until the war opened
in 1812. In December of that year he was commissioned
Major-General, having under him the 5th and 17th brigades, December
covering eight counties assigned to the Edgecombe and 1812
Wake brigades. Now, although North Carolina was not
then invaded, there was a call for volunteers. There were
51,000 militia men on the roll, but only 7,000 were asked
for, the President to supply them with arms. Volunteers

224

THE WAR OPENS

were being organized into detachments to respond to orders,
and volunteer companies were forming in every county. In
the meantime Fort Johnston had been garrisoned by a
company of the First Regiment of U. S. Artillery.

Biog. Hist.,
II, 165

The British
arrive

Henry duel

About the middle of February, 1813, New Bern was in
the shadow of grief cast over the community by the trag¬
ical ending of an unimportant incident. Thomas Stanly and
Lewis Henry had been classmates at college, long friends
and intimates, and now law students at New Bern. At a
supper given by Gaston, Stanly playfully tossed a morsel of
cake across the table which, falling in Henry’s cup of tea,
splashed his vest. A lady at Henry’s side made a remark
that aggravated the incident. An insult was suggested ; a
hasty reply given and a challenge followed. Young Stanly
consulted his elder brother, Hon. John Stanly, who advised
the meeting. The meeting took place on Sunday, Feb¬
ruary 14, within the border of Virginia. At the first dis¬
charge, Stanly was instantly killed. He was in his 23d
year and was just about to apply for admission to the bar.
Certainly the affair should be attributed to John Stanly who
himself had killed Spaight. . After Stanly had fallen every
measure was taken which humanity or friendship could
dictate. Up to the day of his death, this tragedy was ever a
blight on Henry’s peace of mind. While New Bern was
agitated over this lamentable affair came the disquieting
news that the apprehensions of the Federalist leaders were
not without foundation. A British fleet entered the capes
and anchored in Lynnhaven Bay. There were about a dozen
ships of war. The cruisers had taken quite a fleet of mer¬
chantmen in Chesapeake Bay, and among them several New
Bern vessels bound to New York.

But New Bern was not without reprisals.

EXPLOITS OF A PRIVATEER

22 5

Snap Dragon

The merchants of New Bern, always as enterprising as
they were patriotic, had in the Revolution successfully
preyed on British commerce, much to their advantage.
Now, no sooner had war been declared than Otway Burns,
a native of Beaufort and captain of a merchantman plying
between New Bern and Portland, Maine, arranged through
a joint stock company for the purchase of a larger and
swifter vessel, which he fully equipped as a privateer and
took out letters and began operations. He sailed down
into the Spanish Main, and took several small prizes and
towards the end of February, 1813, while the British fleet
was at Lynnhaven Bay, there entered New Bern the sloop
Fillis — Miller prize-master, a prize to the privateer schooner
Snap Dragon , taken the 18th of January in the Caribbean
Sea. The Snap Dragon was bound to Carthagena to victual
for another cruise, “all well and good spirits aboard." And
then on April 10, 1813, the Snap Dragon itself came to
New Bern, Edward Pasteur being the master.

On Monday, March 29, Judge Edward Harris of New
Bern died in the court at Lumberton. In 1801 he had
served for one month as the circuit judge of the United
States, then in 1811 on the death of the lamented Joshua G.
Wright, judge of the Superior Court, he had been ap¬
pointed to that vacancy. “It seems that he left home under
the impression that he would not survive the circuit, and a
complete suit of burial clothes was found in his trunk.”
At that period the judges and attorneys, for the want of
other conveyances, traveled in their own gigs, that being
before the introduction of buggies.

Notwithstanding the declaration of war and the call of the
country to arms, the Federalist leaders were active against
the administration. Congress was to convene early in May
and Governor Hawkins issued a proclamation ordering the
election of Representatives to be held on the 30th of April
15

February

1813

Fed. Rep.,
Feb. 27,
1813

Death of

Judge

Harris

Hoyt :
Murphey,
I, 68

Congression¬
al election

226

THE WAR OPENS

Gaston’s

victory

instead of waiting until August. Gaston’s position may be
taken as that of all the Federalist candidates. “Convinced
that we had well-founded causes of complaint against each
of the great belligerents of Europe, I nevertheless could
not but view the selection of Great Britain for our enemy,
while the relations of friendship were courted with France,
as an act of extravagance and rashness, astonishing and
unaccountable. It is forbidden by our interests. From
the honor and fair character of the nation, nothing could
be more abhorrent. If the declaration of war is to be la¬
mented, there is little consolation to be found in the manner
of its prosecution. I avow myself the earnest and anxious
friend of peace. The difference between the United States
and our enemy is now understood to be confined to a single
point, the right of search for British seamen. I will not
as a man and, as a Christian, I dare not, yield my consent
to shed blood or waste the treasure of my countrymen upon
an abstract question of doubtful right. At whatever risque
or cost, I am prepared to protect my country and every sec¬
tion of it from attack, but I am not disposed to aid in
schemes of foreign conquests,” etc. At the election, Black-
ledge who, however, did not canvass, received only 943
votes, while Gaston received 2,763, nearly five hundred
more than two years before, when he was beaten by five
hundred. In the Fayetteville district Rev. John Culpepper,
a Baptist minister, was elected over J. A. Cameron, both
Federals, while D. M. McFarland received the smallest vote.
Stanford, who had been a Republican, defeated Mebane,
who had introduced the bill taking from the people their
right to vote for electors, Stanford being against the war
and the war measures. William Kennedy, Federalist of
Tarboro, was elected by a very small majority. On the
whole, the Republicans held their own fairly well, but Mr.
Macon now began what appears to be an inconsistent
course, not supporting the war measures himself, and setting
an example that some of his friends followed.

HOSTILITIES

227

In March, 1813, the President appointed to be major
generals in the United States army, W. R. Davie and Wade
Hampton, and these appointments were immediately con¬
firmed by the Senate ; but Davie did not accept and re¬
mained at his home on the Catawba.

Hostilities

During Jefferson’s administration the construction of a
large number of small gunboats had been authorized and
there were several of these at Wilmington out of commis¬
sion; at New Bern there was at least one, named “No. 150.”
Early in May a rumor came from Beaufort that Beaufort
was blockaded by two British schooners, and May 21 the
•specie in the vaults of the New Bern branch of the Bank of
the State was removed in two wagons to Raleigh. “Since
the blockade of the Chesapeake,” said the Federal Repub¬
lican, “several vessels whose destination was the bay, have
come into Ocracoke or Beaufort, and have dispatched their
cargoes to Norfolk through the canal. . . . Beaufort

has a reasonable protection from its fort; Ocracoke has only
its shoal water, the revenue cutter and the militia. On May
21 a schooner arrived off" Ocracoke and was intent on sur¬
prising the cutter, but failed. ... On June 1 the
British armed schooner High-flyer was seen off the bar of
Beaufort, and Captain Burns sailed immediately with the
Snap Dragon 'and a noble crew’ for Beaufort. Should the
Snap Dragon be so fortunate as to fall in with High- flyer,
we have no doubt of her success.”

The proximity of the British fleet and the possibility of
attack had now been for four months in the minds of the
people on the seacoast. They had become accustomed to the
situation ; when suddenly unheralded, at daybreak on the
12th of July a fleet of nine ships, among them two brigs and
two schooners, anchored off Ocracoke bar, and nineteen
barges each carrying an 18 pounder carronade and forty

Davie

declines

New Bern

July

1813

228

THE WAR OPENS

Alarm at
New Bern

At Raleigh

men came inside the bar. In the channel lav in fancied

• j

security the privateers Anaconda and the Atlas , and the
revenue cutter, not so well armed. The barges at once at¬
tacked the two armed vessels, and after a spirited resistance
took them, but the greater part of the crews escaped to the
shore. The revenue cutter made sail. It was the expecta¬
tion of the British admiral to seize all the vessels and pro¬
ceed at once to capture New Bern; but although the two
brigs and two schooners came inside and pursuit was made,
the cutter was successful in making her escape, and reached
New Bern. There the inhabitants realized the peril. There
were bustling preparations for battle, and the flight of the
women and children ensued. A committee of safety was
appointed to aid the militia officers in preparing for defense.
Heavy cannon were mounted and breastworks were erected
at different points in the town, and ammunition was col¬
lected from the county, and from Washington and Beau¬
fort. The militia from the adjoining counties flocked in in
great numbers. In a few hours 2,000 men were collecting.

Altogether the British had some thirty barges, arid it was
reported that they had landed a thousand men at Ports¬
mouth and Ocracoke. They collected hundreds of cattle
and sheep which they sent off to the Chesapeake. But
foiled in their hope of surprising New Bern, they made no
further invasion.

On the 16th, four days after the British landing, the news
reached Raleigh. On Sunday, the 18th, Gen. Calvin Jones
with his aides and Captain Clark’s Company of Raleigh
Guards, took the road for New Bern. The ladies of Ra¬
leigh were helpful in preparing them for the hasty march, in
a few hours making for them 100 knapsacks. The next
morning, Governor Hawkins, along with Gen. Robert Wil-
Hams and Major Thomas Henderson, also hurried on, ac¬
companied by Captain Hawkins’s troop of cavalry. The
Governor had lost no time in making requisitions from the
eastern counties for troops, and on Wednesday Colonel

DEFENSE OF NEW BERN

229

Roper and Maj. Daniel L. Barringer led a hundred men
from Wake County to the front. The response to the call
to arms was quick. Detachments were now hurrying from
the interior to the sea coast, great activity pervaded the
country. The supply of munitions was limited. All the
powder and lead that could be found at Raleigh, Hillsboro
and Fayetteville and other places were collected. There
were some arms at Wilmington, and a part of these were
sent to New Bern. While the Governor had the purpose to
be in the front line of battle himself, he conferred the com¬
mand of the sea coast on Gen. Calvin Jones. General Jones
reached New Bern in two days and, fearing lest Beaufort
might be attacked, he sent a large detachment to garrison the
fortifications there, consisting of Fort Hampton, Fort Gas¬
ton and Fort Pigott.

While these preparations were made at New Bern, other
detachments had hurried to Wilmington. There similar
efforts were in progress to withstand the invader. Indeed,
a gale of patriotic ardor swept throughout the whole State,
and the people in unison were responding to their country’s
call ; but unknown to them, the danger had faded away.
After five days passed harmlessly at Ocracoke, the hostile
fleet bore away to the southward, and except for a flag of
truce sent back to Ocracoke with a notice that the entire
coast was declared in blockade, the doughty Admiral Cock-
burn troubled the State no more. However, a period of
uncertainty intervened, and for a month Governor Hawkins
was visiting the fortifications along the coast, and General
Jones was watching with vigilance for the return of the
enemy.

Enterprise of the people

But the alarms of war did not stifle the enterprise of the
people. On June 6, 1813, the Clarendon Steamboat Com¬
pany was formed for the Cape Fear River. In a few

The State
aroused

June

1813

230

THE WAR OPENS

Steamboat

Iron mills

Biog. Hist.,
IV, 310-311

1813

Gaston’s

attitude

hours $12,000 was subscribed at Wilmington and $10,000
at Fayetteville ; and farther northward a line of stages was
put on from Elizabeth City to Portsmouth, Va., yet the
Public Safety Committee at Wilmington presented a me¬
morial to the Governor urging preparations for defense,
and the Governor appointed John H. Bryan Quartermaster-
General and Gabriel Holmes, Inspector-General of the de¬
tached militia of the State.

The first cotton mill

Lincoln County has the distinction of starting up the
first cotton mill that was successful south of the Potomac
and it also was early in iron manufacture. John Fulen-
wider, an educated engineer of Wales, having located in
Lincoln County, began there the development of the iron
industry, erecting furnaces and rolling mills and operating
the first nail machine ever used in America. During the
war of 1812-14 he supplied cannon balls for the use of the
army. In the same vicinity John Hoke, associated with a
neighbor, Michael Schenck, erected in 1813 the first cotton
mill and operated it successfully, and it was continued by
their families until the War Between the States. Among
the descendants of John Hoke were Michael Hoke, General
Hoke and Chief Justice Hoke.

While perils were threatening New Bern, Hannah Gaston,
the wife of William Gaston, died on July 13, leaving several
infant children, but Gaston was at his post at Washing¬
ton. Speaking on Webster’s resolution on July 19, he said:
‘‘It will not be deemed egotism, I trust, to add that bap¬
tised an American in the blood of a murdered father;
bound to my native land by every moral and natural tie that
can fasten on the heart of man ; with not one motive of in¬
terest, of passion, or prejudice to seduce the loyalty of my
affections ; never can I separate myself from the cause of
my country, however that cause may have been betrayed by
those to whose care it was confided.”

s s irg” - . . . . . . . . . . . . "" «■■»» «■ . . . — li a a

1. The Fries Cotton Mill at Salem

2. Michael Schenck-Hoke Cotton Mill at Lincolnton, 1813

3. Spinning Wheel and Loom

0 0 l*"" . i" 7i hi ~ . i~ . . - Q (T)

WASP AND FROLIC

231

The year 1814 opened with the war still flagrant. The
British fleet had possession of the Chesapeake Bay and
threatened every point on the coast. Still the situation did
not interrupt the accustomed life of the people. In
February the stay law expired, and no hardships seemed to
result. The academies that dotted nearly every county in
the State were not closed. An orphan asylum had been
organized at Fayetteville and the North Carolina Bible So¬
ciety formed. In Lenoir County a military and literary
society had been incorporated, and Thespian associations
organized at Salisbury, Raleigh, and Fayetteville, and at
Wilmington the Thalian Society that continued its existence
many years. But the war had its incidents. In October,
1812, just off the coast of North Carolina an engagement
took place between 'the British ship Frolic and the American
sloop Wasp. The battle was so fierce that when the Ameri¬
can captors boarded the Frolic to haul down the British
flag, .they found no one on deck but the helmsman ; the sur¬
vivors had retired below. Preparations were made along
the coast for defense. At Wilmington a committee of
safety of which Robert Cochran was president, with the
concurrence of the military authorities and Governor Haw¬
kins, purchased Clark’s Island, four miles below the town,
taking title to the Governor of the State, and erecting forti¬
fications on it at a cost of over two thousand dollars. After
the war the Legislature directed the Governor to convey
the title to Cochran in trust to repay the persons who
originally furnished the funds expended. On the land,
generally, the military operations had been unfortunate and
inglorious, but notwithstanding Mr. Macon’s aversion to
naval operations, on the sea it was otherwise. The flag
was often borne to glorious victory. In these glories North
Carolina had her share.

1814

Social

conditions

The Wasp
takes the
Frolic

232

THE WAR OPENS

The Snap
Dragon

Johnson

Blakely

June, 1814

On the sea

Otway Burns made application for letters of marque
dated July i, 1813, specifying that the Snap Dragon was
147 tons, carried a crew of 75 men, 5 carriage guns and 50
muskets. In a subsequent voyage he carried 127 men.
She ranged from Newfoundland to South America. Dur¬
ing the first seven months of 1814 she captured 2 barks,
5 brigs, and 3 schooners, the cargoes being valued at one
million dollars ; and she took 250 prisoners. But at length
Captain Burns being laid up, the commission was given to
Lieutenant DeWhaley, who in an encounter with the British
man of war Leopard was with many of the crew slain and
the vessel surrendered. The Snap Dragon was conveyed to
England and the crew confined in Dartmoor prison.

Another naval officer of great renown was Capt. John¬
son Blakely. Born in Ireland, his father had brought him
to Wilmington while a boy. His parents having died, and
he having inherited some means, he was brought into court

to select a guardian. He selected his father’s friend, Col.

, «

Edward Jones, himself an Irishman, the distinguished
Attorney-General of the State. Colonel Jones had him
well educated at Flatbush, Long Island, and at the Univer¬
sity, and in 1800 secured his appointment in the naval
service. He served in an expedition against the Barbary
States and became an officer of recognized merit. Com¬
manding the Wasp in Tune, 1814, he appeared off the coast
of England and in a fierce engagement captured the British
sloop of war Reindeer. Burning his prize, in August he
fell in with the ship Avon, which he captured, but he was
driven off by the near approach of several other men of war.
He then, in two weeks, took fifteen British vessels. On one
of these prizes, he placed a crew and sent dispatches home,
which came safely, but that was the last known of the
Wasp. The gallant Blakely and his crew perished at sea.
In November the private armed schooner Saratoga arrived at

TIDE OF WAR TURNS

233

Wilmington from a cruise in the British Channel, and
brought papers with accounts of the battle between the
Wasp and Avon. The London papers made great com¬
plaints of the injury suffered from American privateers,
“which are so audacious as to take British vessels and prop¬
erty at their very doors.”

Failures on land

The campaign at the northwest had never been satisfac¬
torily conducted. General after general in that region had
ignominiously failed. It was during that period of despond¬
ency that Archibald Murphey wrote: “I pray God to give
us peace, and save us from further disgrace. We shall get
out of the war loaded with debt and taxes, defeat and dis¬
grace.” And some of the people became dispirited. The
war spirit gave place to peace sentiment. Opposition to
the administration strongly developed. Indeed, the Fed¬
erate in North Carolina were exulting in their hopes and
eagerly dispatched the news northward. Yancey at Wash¬
ington wrote to Ruffin : “The Federals here are in fine
spirits from the information they have received from their
friends in our State. They expect the whole State with
the exception of one or two members will be Federal.” At
length, however, in General Brown a more fortunate cam¬
paigner was found. Early in July, 1814, he brought on
the battle of Chippewa, routing the British, and, after other
advantageous movements, the battle of Lundy’s Lane,
within half a mile of Niagara Falls. Few encounters have
ever been more sanguinary. Both sides retired from the
field satisfied with the slaughter, but the tide was turned.
Brig. Gen. Winfield Scott was the hero of the campaign.
General Swift, in his History of New York, however,
awards the credit of that campaign to Capt. William Mc-
Ree of the Engineers, who, it was said, planned the details.
Captain McRee was of the Bladen and New Hanover
family, distinguished in several generations for intellectu¬
ality and manhood as for high personal character.

July, 1814

McRee

234

THE WAR OPENS

Niles
Reporter,
July 16,
1814

Biog. Hist.,
VII, 102

Ulna

Blakely

Another North Carolina army officer won fame, Benjamin
Forsyth of Stokes County. In 1809, having received a
commission as captain in the army, he was assigned to the
command of a company in the Rifle Regiment and was
serving at the north in 1812. In September, 1812, he em¬
barked with 100 men at Cape Vincent on the St. Lawrence
and fell down the river to Leeds, and destroyed the British
storehouse there and successfully returned, bringing a large
supply of captured military stores. In the following Feb¬
ruary, with two hundred men in ships, he left Ogdensburg
and proceeded up the river and, crossing over to Elizabeth¬
town, took 52 prisoners and a considerable quantity of
munitions, without the loss of a man. After various other
encounters he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel, but un¬
happily fell in a skirmish near Odeltown. A plan had been
devised to draw the British into an ambuscade. Forsyth
was directed to attack and retreat, and thus draw the
enemy on, but in the encounter he fell, the only man in his
command who was killed. “He was a terror to the enemy,
and among the best partisan officers who ever lived.” He
left a son and four daughters. The Legislature directed
that the son, James* N. Forsyth, should be educated at the
expense of the State and be presented with a sword. Later
he became a midshipman, and unhappily he perished at
sea in the wreck of the Hornet in 1829 before he was
twenty-one years of age. The county of Forsyth was in
1849 named in honor of Col. Benjamin Forsyth. And sim¬
ilarly, the Legislature which had during his life directed
a sword to be presented to Blakely, now made another pro¬
vision ; the gallant seaman had left only one child, a daugh¬
ter, LTlna ; she too was adopted by the State ; an appropria¬
tion was made for her education, and, in lieu of the sword,
a set of silver plate was presented to her. She went with
her mother to St. Croix in the West Indies, where she mar¬
ried ; but soon after died.

JACKSON DEFEATS INDIANS

235

The Indians

The Indians had been stirred up by a fanatical prophet,
Tecumseh, who was killed in the great battle of Chip¬
pewa; and the Cherokees and Creeks in Alabama and Geor¬
gia now began hostilities, and the settlers, many from North
Carolina, took refuge in Fort Minims, on the Chattahoochee
River. The Indians having succeeded in taking this fort,
where there were 553 whites, massacred them, only five
or six escaping. This aroused the whole southern country
to action while the whites virtually abandoned Alabama.
The militia of Tennessee and Georgia and Louisiana and
Mississippi hurried forward. Andrew Jackson, a general
of militia in Tennessee, hastened to the scene and a thousand
North Carolinians from the western counties, under Gen.
Joseph Graham, rushed to his assistance. Jackson, how¬
ever, had defeated the Indians in a great battle at Horse
Shoe Bend before Graham reached him, but Graham’s North
Carolinians assisted in capturing those who were still in
arms. Jackson was quickly appointed Major General in the
army of the United States and given command at the South.
It was the beginning of his phenomenal career.

The Albemarle militia goes to Norfolk

Norfolk being again threatened in the fall of 1814, the
President made a requisition on North Carolina for a de¬
tachment of militia to be mustered into the service of the
United States and to hold Norfolk. Some fifteen hundred
of the militia were concentrated at Gates Courthouse. They
were from the Albemarle district, including the counties of
Halifax, Warren and Nash. Gen. Calvin Jones was the
quartermaster. The detachment assembled at Gates Court¬
house towards the end of September and, under the com¬
mand of Gen. Jeremiah Slade and unarmed, marched in
detachments to Norfolk, where they were mustered into
the service of the United States. There they remained for

Fort Minims

Graham’s

army

Andrew

Jackson

1813

Winborne :
county of
Hertford

236

THE WAR OPENS

Ruffin,
I, 154

Allen: Hist,
of Halifax,
71

Andrew

Joyner

weeks, ready and waiting for the enemy. They were spec¬
tators of the battle of Craney Island, where the British fleet
was driven back. They were not entirely disbanded until
the treaty of peace.

The second regiment

In addition to the first regiment that marched from Gates
Courthouse to Norfolk, a second regiment was organized
at Hillsboro, November 28, 1814, composed of companies
from Chatham, Person, Caswell, Rockingham, Guilford,
Randolph, Stokes, Surry and Wilkes, of which Col. Richard
Atkinson of Person was the lieutenant-colonel commanding,
and James Campbell was first major. This new regiment
reached Norfolk on December 27. The troops were pro¬
vided with thin tents and it was some weeks before they
were housed, and they suffered from the irregularity with
which they were supplied with wood and other necessaries.
These troops fell victims to disease. “At the Peach Orchard
where the first regiment was stationed, there were 61 deaths
by December 7, but in the second regiment while 276
were on the sick list, only 8 had so far died." The second
regiment was at camp about a mile out of the city. Captain
Young’s company was stationed at Craney Island.

After the capture of Washington City and the repulse of
the British at Baltimore, the British admiral apparently pro¬
posed the capture of Norfolk, but when he was ready, he
found the Americans also ready. He entered Elizabeth
River, opened a bombardment on Craney Island, but being
repulsed, sailed away.

The North Carolina troops soon afterwards returned to
the State. While the troops suffered from the dreadful
sickness which carried off so many of the First Regiment,
Hiey lost none in battle.

SENATOR STONE UNDER FIRE 237

Stone's retirement

Now occurred the tragic ending of a career that had been
exceptionally brilliant. Perhaps no other native had been
so favored by fortune as David Stone. In December, 1812,
he had been elected the second time as United States Senator
and necessarily he was expected to support the war meas¬
ures of the administration, a course, however, he declined to
follow. He seems to have fallen under the influence of
Massachusetts's disloyal leadership, and when the Assembly
met in November, 1813, so shocked and outraged were the
Republican members of the body, that resolutions were in¬
troduced reciting the several tergiversations imputed to
him ; that he had voted against the direct tax to support the
war, against the embargo, against prohibiting illicit inter¬
course and correspondence by the British Tories with the
Indian enemies under British dominance, and against the
appointment of Gallatin as Ambassador to Russia.

Senator Stone attended at Raleigh, and he later asserted
that his purpose was to resign and retire to private life, but
he found so much excitement prevailing that it forbade him
from entrusting the Assembly with the election of a new
Senator, so he held on. A joint committee of the two
houses on December 13, 1813, brought in a report stating isi3
his defection from the administration, although elected as
a supporter of the war, and closing with the resolution :

“That the said David Stone hath disappointed the reasonable
expectations and incurred the disapprobation of this Gen¬
eral Assembly.” This resolution was adopted by a small
majority in each house. Fourteen Senators protested Bi HUt
against it, among them Archibald D. Murphey, and in the IV> 422
House 42 protested, among them Duncan Cameron, James
Iredell, Maurice Moore, Paul Barringer and William Boy-
lan. The line between the Republicans and Federalists was
drawn. The Federalists in the State were following Massa¬
chusetts. When the Legislature was about to meet in

238

THE WAR OPENS

1814

Death of
Stone

Hoyt:
Murphey,
I, 77

November, 1814, Senator Stone placed his resignation in the
hands of Governor Hawkins, who laid it before the House
on December 5. Thus ended a phenomenal career. Gov¬
ernor Stone retired to a farm in the vicinity of Raleigh, and
four years later died there at the age of 44 years.

When the Assembly met in November, 1814, there were
several vacant positions open to the ambitious. Judge
Locke, after ten years service, had resigned from the bench
and Duncan Cameron had been appointed by the Governor
to fill the vacancy ; now the Legislature was to elect. Gov¬
ernor Hawkins’s term had expired and a new Governor
was to be chosen. And Senator Stone had at last resigned
in a dramatic way.

The usual custom of elections was now varied. The houses
having chosen their former speakers, agreed to ballot foi
a judge, but before the voting began, the proposition was
reconsidered and a caucus was held. Then a ^sub-caucus”
was held, at which it was agreed to elect Miller Governor,
and James Mebane Senator. Later, since Outlaw wished
to be Governor, in the interest of Miller it was proposed to
substitute Outlaw for Mebane in the Senate, but the caucus
was not strong enough. Cameron was elected judge, and
Locke U. S. Senator ; Miller, however, won the Governor’s
office. The first ballot stood, .Miller 95, Outlaw 10, and
Col. William Polk, a Federalist, 83. There was some inad¬
vertence in the count, and it was held “no election.” Mur¬
phey, a Senator, wrote that if the election had been post¬
poned a day, Outlaw would have been chosen, but for him¬
self, he could not vote for either of them. And singularly
enough, while Francis Locke was elected U. S Senator, he
never qualified. The seat remained vacant.

CHAPTER XVI

The Hartford Convention

1815

The Hartford Convention. — The Federal party falls into odium.

— The victory at New Orleans. — The Treaty of Peace. — Republi¬
cans in ascendancy. — The poor conditions in the State. — Emi¬
gration. — The Quakers. — No free schools. — Governor Miller’s mes¬
sage. — Murphey’s reports. — The Legislature acts. — The Statue of
Washington. — Macon Senator, Gaston in the House. — The Coloni¬
zation Society. — Branch Governor. — Internal Improvements. —

The New Bern Steamboat Company. — Public instruction. — Mur¬
phey’s plan.— Inland navigation. — Financial conditions. — The
Cherokee lands acquired. — Yadkin canal. — The penitentiary.

> ew England holds a convention

The war in Europe had ceased with the battle of Waterloo
and Great Britain’s hands were now free to conquer Amer¬
ica. Our peace commissioners had met those of Great
Britain, but our haughty foe sought to impose dishonorable
terms as if she had already won the war. When these re¬
quirements were communicated to Congress and made public
a wave of indignation and of patriotic ardor swept over
the country, except alone in New England; there disloyalty
prevailed. In 1814 the Legislature of Massachusetts rec¬
ommended that a convention of delegates from the New
England States should be held, and at once set the example
of appointing twelve delegates. The Legislatures of Rhode
Island and Connecticut followed by appointing their dele¬
gates, but Vermont and New Hampshire did not concur.
On November 24, 1814, Murphey wrote to Ruffin: “I be¬
lieve the government is on the brink of dissolution. New
England is determined on her course and I see nothing
that can arrest it. Augur no good from the votes of New
Hampshire and Vermont. All the northern states will con¬
federate and, having amended the Constitution, leave it
to us to unite with them or not. My spirits are depressed.
I see nothing but ruin and confusion before us.”

1814

Hoyt :
Murphey
Papers, I, 76

240

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION

The New England Convention met at Hartford on Dej
cember 15. There were twenty-six delegates in attendance,
among them one from Vermont and two from New Hamp¬
shire. They sat with closed doors, their proceedings being
veiled in secrecy. On January 4, 1815, they published a
report recommending seven amendments to the Constitution ;
that representation should be based on the white population ;
that the President should not be elected from the same state
two terms in succession; and, further, that the legislatures,
of the states represented in the Convention should adopt
measures to protect their citizens from certain acts of
Congress. The resolutions recommended were later adopted
by Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The language used by the Convention admitted the con¬
struction that the Convention proposed to dissolve the
Union; but in any light, a combination was formed the
„ effect of which was to enfeeble the government in the hour

History of Gf cpre necessitv ' and to encourage the hopes and projects

U. S., Ill,

400 of the enemy. The Convention was the work of New

England Federalists and its action was so repugnant to
American principles that it turned the patriotic hearts of
the people from the Federal party. That party fell into
odium and eventually became moribund.

While the Hartford Convention was in progress a Treaty
of Peace was signed at Ghent on December 24, but nearly
two months passed before the news reached America.

Andrew

Jackson

The victory at New Orleans

In September some fifteen thousand British troops, no
longer needed in Europe, had been dispatched to take New
Orleans and Mobile. Andrew Jackson was in command
of that part of the Union. He was well sustained by the
Southern people. On the 8th of January he met the
enemy and was the victor. It was the most glorious battle
fought during the war. The repulse of the British veterans
was overwhelming. Now despondency gave place to high

THE WAR ENDS GLORIOUSLY

241

elation. Patriotic ardor stirred the breast of every true
American. However, a month later the news of the treaty
reached Washington. On February 1, the treaty having
been received, was ratified, and the good news flew through
the country. America had won the war. Blessed peace
had come! and what was called the Second War for Amer¬
ican Independence had ended in a blaze of glory.

Toward the end of the war feeling had not been favor¬
able to the administration. The flight of the President, the
capture of Washington City, the burning of the Capitol and
the inadequate provision made for defense were heavy
weights for the administration leaders to carry. Indeed,
Macon had not been a cordial supporter of war measures,
while the Federalists had been urgent in opposition. But
the war had terminated fortunately, and as the wave of
rejoicing swept over the country, the people turned again
to the support of the Administration. In North Carolina,
Republicans continued in control of the Assembly and re¬
gained several of the Congressional districts they had pre¬
viously lost. John R. Donnell, writing to Thomas Ruffin,
congratulated him “on the unexpected triumphs of our Re¬
publican friends in almost every part of the State in the
late Congressional canvass.” It was indeed the end of
the Federal party in the State; after this, the odium into
which the New England Federalists had fallen bore so heav¬
ily on their friends that their southern confreres generally
withdrew from them. Indeed, they became stigmatized as
“Blue Light Federalists,” the reference being to the allega¬
tion that when our naval vessels, the Macedonian and the
United States, were attempting to pass to sea at night from
New London, their escape was frustrated by means of blue
light signals, used by traitors to warn the blockading
British fleet.

Peace

The Federal¬
ists odious

Ruffin, I,
161

The Blue
Lights

242

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION

Conditions in 1815

A view of conditions in the State at this period, how¬
ever, presents a picture far from inspiring. As listed for
taxation by the proprietors, the general average of land
value was about $1.33 an acre. In Northampton and Hali¬
fax it was about $5.00. In the northern central counties,
from Orange, east and west, it was higher than in any other
section, while in some of the long settled eastern counties
it was very low, perhaps because of the uncleared swamps
and worthless savanna lands, as in New Hanover, where
it was only about sixty cents an acre. But the commissioners
to assess land for the United States direct taxes for the year
1815 estimated the average value at $2.60, almost twice as
much as that given in for State taxation. The valuation of
slaves in the counties shows that in Caswell, Person, Gran¬
ville, Nash, Franklin, and Warren the slaves were more
valuable than the land, and in Wilkes, Iredell, Rowan, Meck¬
lenburg, Lincoln, Burke and other western counties, the
slaves were valued at more than half that of the land.

Transportation

The handicap of the western counties was their inade¬
quate transportation facilities ; while the eastern ports were
deprived of the trade of the interior since the most accessible
markets for the west were in South Carolina and Virginia.
One of the first great turnpikes was from Morganton by
way of Kings Mountain to Charleston, S. C. ; others led
toward Petersburg, and further east Norfolk was the easiest
market. The general effect was to keep the value of the
The markets products of the west at a low point and to limit the trade
of the merchants of the east, who thus made no profit either
in handling the exported products or in supplying the in¬
terior with necessaries. The profits accrued to the mer¬
chants of Virginia and South Carolina, and it was con¬
sidered that they amounted to about half a million of dollars

WHEN LIVING CAME HIGH

243

each year. As a result of these conditions, there was but
little cash accumulated through enterprise and industry;
nor were there many channels open for the investment of
money. Indeed, the only investment, other than negroes
and lands, seems to have been bank stock.

No record was kept of coastwise shipments, but it appears
that the foreign exports of all the other North Carolina
ports were only about one-third those of Wilmington, for the
produce of the northeastern counties went chiefly to
Virginia. Towards the south it was different. Fayette¬
ville, at the head of water transportation on the Cape Fear,
was the center of a considerable trade, and was the most
populous, wealthiest and most important town in the State.
Domestic produce shipped by Fayetteville in 1816 included
2,337 hogsheads of tobacco; 8,252 bales of cotton; 11,813
bushels of wheat; 12,962 barrels of flour; 5,164 casks flax
seed; 29,761 gallons of spirits of turpentine, the whole ag¬
gregating $1,331,368. Wilmington’s export trade for six
months of the same year, included lumber, $157,290; naval
stores, $131,000; products of agriculture, $1,112,300.

Prices of merchandise were high. Dr. Battle, with the
books of a mercantile firm at Raleigh before him, wrote as
to values in 1815: “I have a guilty sensation, like that of
an eavesdropper, in seeing what the belles and beaux of that
period were accustomed to buy ; ribbons and combs, and
calicoes, silk handkerchiefs, teas and coffee and (shall I tell
on them?) brandy and rum. A dozen needles cost 25 cents,
a silk handkerchief, bandana, $1.25, a muslin handker¬
chief 70 cents ; a yard of broadcloth $7.00 ; a pound of pepper
70 cents; a pair of cotton hose $1.40; a dozen pewter plates
$4.50; a pound of hyson tea $2.50; a yard of linen 70 cents;
a pound of gunpowder $1.00, and a pound of shot 15 cents.
Nails were sold by number, fifty ten-penny nails for 15
cents. Brandy was cheaper, $1.60 a gallon, but loaf sugar
for sweeting the julep was 45 cents a pound.”

Fayetteville

Exports
Flax seed,
flour, etc.

Prices

244

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION

Southern

Quakers,

258

At that period there were looms in nearly every house and
flax was converted into linen, wool into jersey, and cotton
into cloth — the people dressing generally in homespun.
The pine, along with candles and oil lamps, furnished
lights. The food was the product of the farm and gardens
and in every community were potters, shoemakers, carpen¬
ters and others adept in the various handicrafts.

Emigration

From the time when the first migrations beyond the
mountains began there had been removals to the western
wilderness. While this call found response in the frontier
and central counties, it also led to a considerable movement
even from the sea coast region. A notable instance had
occurred in 1800. There were two original settlements of
Quakers in the State, one in the Albemarle section, and
one, later, from Pennsylvania and Maryland and even
Massachusetts in the western counties, with the center at
New Garden. Also a considerable number of Friends had
located in Jones County and the contiguous territory form¬
ing what was known as the Contentnea Quarter. In 1800
all of that Quaker settlement removed to Ohio, and from
that time onward there were movements from New Garden
and from Albemarle to the country north of the Ohio River.
While the spirit of enterprise and hope of advantage were
controlling motives, yet disapproval of slavery was likewise
a factor. Many of the Quakers, being opposed to slavery,
sought homes where it did not exist. But the loss of popu¬
lation by the removal of the Quakers was slight in com¬
parison to that occasioned by the exodus of others to the
new lands now open to entry. Thousands of the German
Lutherans, and some of the Guilford Quakers, moved north
of the Ohio, while the more eastern emigrants went south
and west. The movement was induced by the little cost
of entry and the speedy increase in value by the great stream
of immigrants rushing in to possess the lands. The white

DISCOURAGING CONDITIONS

245

population during the previous decade had increased but 12
per cent, whereas a normal increase would have been be¬
tween 16 and 20 per cent. Indeed the free blacks increased
through emancipation 45 per cent while there had been an
increase in slaves of 25 per cent, although many of the whites
going to the south carried their negroes with them.

As the transportation facilities throughout the State
were very poor the western counties found their most
convenient markets in South Carolina and Virginia. It
was to remedy this condition that continued efforts were
made to open the water-courses to transportation ; and turn¬
pikes were chartered here and there at the west, allowing
tolls to be charged for their use. Living conditions in the
interior must indeed have been discouraging, produce yield¬
ing but small returns for industry, while prices of necessa¬
ries brought from abroad were high.

Ko free schools

As yet the State had not engaged in public education ; and
although there was a multiplication of academies, the policy
of free schools had not been adopted. Indeed, while Massa¬
chusetts had early required her townships to maintain schools
at which indigents might be taught, these schools were
largely supported by the individual patrons. It does not
appear that even as late as 1815 there was in any state a
free school system maintained by state taxation. Connect¬
icut had in 1795 appropriated the proceeds of her lands in
Ohio for a school fund, but there was no state taxation
for education, nor had New York a system of free educa¬
tion in 1815. The next year, however, that state opened
free schools, the first ever sustained by general taxation.
In North Carolina the need for transportation being
pressing, conditions were unfavorable for taxation for
schools ; and despite the numerous academies conducted in
the counties, the number of illiterates increased. However,
the absence of free schools could not have influenced

At the west

Situation

elsewhere

246

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION

Dec., 1816

Miller urges
equality of
opportunity

wealthy, educated families to remove into the far wilderness
where there were no schools at all.

The Assembly

When the Assembly met Miller was continued as Gov¬
ernor and John Branch was chosen as Speaker of the Senate.
Governor Miller in his message said : “The progress which
has been made of late in the establishment of seminaries for
the educating of youth evinces a spirit and genius in the
people of this State for literary acquirements. But so long
as these establishments are left to depend for support on
individual exertion, their beneficial effects must necessarily
be partial. It is under the fostering hand of legislative
patronage alone that the temple of science can be thrown
open to all,” and he urged that some plan should be devised
by which “every member of the community, no matter
how circumscribed his situation, may have an opportunity
of experiencing the benefits of education. . . . The great
object of a republic, it seems to me, should be to keep all
the members of the community, as near as possible, on an
equality.” Thus he enforced his views for general educa¬
tion by the State. He also urged the improvement of roads,
cutting canals, and opening the navigation of the rivers.

Murphey’s report

And now Archibald D. Murphey, who united intellectu¬
ality with purpose in a higher degree than any of his con¬
temporaries, became more active than ever in matters that
bore on the improvement of conditions in the State.
Murphey had been well taught and had studied law under
Duffie, a gifted scholar; and he himself had directed the
law studies of Bartlett Yancey, Thomas Ruffin and others
who attained eminence in after life. He was studious, at¬
tentive to details and thorough in the consideration of sub¬
jects; moreover, he was endowed with a lively imagination

MURPHEY’S PROGRESSIVE MEASURES

247

and in his writings selected his words with unusual felicity.
He was bent on State improvement rather than on the
promotion of partisan measures, nor was he alone in such
purposes, for others were in sympathy.

Murphey in his report to the Assembly on Internal Im¬
provements said : “Within 25 years more than 200,000 of
our inhabitants have removed to the waters of the Ohio,
Tennessee and Mobile. Thousands of our wealthy and
respectable citizens are annually moving to the west in
quest of that wealth which a rich soil and a commodious
navigation never fail to create in a free state/’ He urged
that the opening of rivers, cutting of canals and making
turnpikes were of necessary importance. He declared that
at the end of five years the values of land, then estimated
at $53,000,000, would be doubled, and the products, esti¬
mated at $30,000,000, would reach ninety millions, “that our
citizens would then remain and our population in twenty
years would be one and a half millions.” While he advocated
improvement of all roads, he urged particularly cutting
a canal connecting the Yadkin and Cape Fear rivers. His
report was favorably received.

Legislative action

In response to these recommendations there was legis¬
lation to improve the Neuse, the Tar, Yadkin and Roanoke
rivers and other smaller streams. In this matter the As¬
sembly went to the limit of its ability and then, animated
with a desire to do what was practicable in regard to edu¬
cating the poorer children, it appointed a committee to re¬
port a plan and system of public instruction ; and it also
appointed a committee to report on the advisability of estab¬
lishing a penitentiary, but the House rejected the proposi¬
tion to hold a convention to amend the Constitution by 84
to 34. The Governor was directed to proclaim a day of
General Thanksgiving for the successful ending of
the late war, but commendation of the President was

The migra¬
tion

Murphey’s

vision

Efforts for
improvement

248

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION

Statue of
Washington

Jefferson’s
Letters, VI,
534

December,

1815

Macon,

Senator

withheld. An act was passed dividing the State into fifteen
districts for the election of presidential electors. As an
amendment of judicial procedure the judges were now
allowed to grant new trials in criminal cases. At this ses¬
sion, Governor Miller submitted to the Assembly the resolu¬
tions of Massachusetts and Connecticut, the result of the
Hartford Convention, to amend the Constitution in several
particulars, in which the Assembly refused to concur. And
in contrast with the New England spirit, North Carolina
again sought to manifest her devotion to the Union and to
inculcate among her citizens sentiments of reverence for
the founder of the republic by instructing the Governor to
have made a statue of Washington. Later the Governor
reported that he had asked the advice of Macon and all
of our public men. Macon in turn had requested Jefferson
to advise him. No one was probably more competent.
Jefferson’s reply was full and illustrates the extensive and
varied information of that remarkable man. He recom¬
mended that Canova be employed ; that the bust made by
Ceracchi should be the model, and he elucidated every prac¬
tical detail. His advice was followed, and the contract
with Canova was made.

In August, 1815, Macon ‘had as usual been returned to the
House, and when, on December 4, the House met, was in
his seat at Washington. Francis Locke, however, had
resigned as senator ; indeed he had never qualified ; and
the Assembly now cast about to fill the place made vacant
by Stone’s retirement. No one in the State was in the
same sphere as Nathaniel Macon and he was chosen.
He had for a quarter of a century been the leader of the
North Carolina delegation, and of his integrity, candor
and patriotism no one doubted. He had been one of the
very creators of the Republican party, and he had managed
its affairs when Speaker in difficult times with address and
power. He took his seat in the Senate, December 13, and
an election being immediately held for a successor in the

MACON IN THE SENATE

249

House of Representatives, his friend and neighbor, Weldon
N. Edwards, was elected and was sworn in February 7,
1816. Macon’s transfer to the Senate may not have been
agreeable to him at all points, as that body had then but
thirty-six members, but it relieved him from association
with Randolph and some others in the House with whom
he had had divergences that brought regret, and also re¬
lieved him from association with Clay and Calhoun and
others who, while training with the Republican party, had
liberal views of the Constitution that Macon could not
stomach, and, indeed, they derisively called him “Old Fogy.”
The escape was doubtless satisfactory to him.

Gaston in Congress

The withdrawal of Mr. Macon from the House, how¬
ever, did not leave the North Carolina delegation without
distinguished membership. Among others, Mr. Gaston re¬
mained. And Gaston was rated as the peer of Lowndes,
Clay, Calhoun and Webster: indeed, in some material re¬
spects, none of them equaled him. Being opposed to the
administration, his course led him away from Calhoun and
Clay, with both of whom he had some passages in debate.
In February, 1814, when the Loan Bill was before the
House, he reviewed the measures of the administration
with great power. Calhoun interposed, Gaston replied with
such directness that had not Calhoun smoothed the matter
a collision would have occurred.

Later, in January, 1816, as his term was near its close
Gaston spoke on the previous question, following a speech
Speaker Clay had made on the floor. It was one of the
notable speeches delivered in Congress. His reputation
was high and the galleries were crowded. Gaston had
carefully examined all the law and history, in England as
here, on the subject, and had prepared an elaborate and
powerful argument. Speaker Clay had spoken with the
confidence and assurance that at that period characterized

1816

Gaston’s re¬
ply to Clay

250

THE HARTFORD C0NVENTI0X

him. Gaston turning to the Speaker said: "If this hideous
rule could have been vindicated we should have received
that vindication from the gentleman who has just resumed
his seat. If his ingenuity .and zeal combined could form,
for the previous question, no other defense than that which
we have heard, the previous question cannot be defended.
If beneath his shield it found so slight a shelter, it must
fall a victim to the just though delayed vengeance of awak¬
ened and indignant freemen. If Hector cannot protect his
Troy, the doom of Troy is fixed by fate.” Clay was put
in such a sorry plight by the well considered speech of
Gaston that he became personally offended with him ; polit¬
ically, they were already adversaries.

Gaston a few weeks later retired from the national halls,
where Clay remained a great figure. They did not meet
again for many years, indeed not until they had both put
aside their old political associations and had become Whigs.
Then, during a visit of Gaston to Washington they met
Seaton 995 at Mr. Seaton’s table. They each gave a token of recogni¬
tion, but preserved a stately reserve until the host offered
the sentiment: “Friendships in marble, enmities in dust.”
They obeyed the injunction; cordial relations were estab¬
lished and their friendship continued through life.

The Colonization Society

Apprehensions of evil results that might attend emanci¬
pation operated to restrict the right of owners to free their
slaves. To remove fears of insurrection incited by free
negroes, a society was formed in 1816 to colonize the free
negroes, and, indeed, there was some hope that colonization
would open the way to general emancipation. Chief among
the promoters of this society was Judge Bushrod Wash¬
ington of Virginia, its first president; and Henry Clay was
an urgent advocate. Everywhere throughout the Union the
advent of the society was hailed with satisfaction, and
ninety-six subsidiary local societies were formed, chiefly at

MURPHEY’S IMPORTANT WORK

251

the South. There were many organized in North Carolina,
where the Quakers cordially cooperated. The settlement
in Africa was called Monrovia after President Monroe,
who rendered the enterprise much assistance.

Murphey strives for education

When the Assembly met in November, 1816, John,
Branch was Speaker of the Senate, Thomas Ruffin of the
House. On the election of Ruffin to a vacant judgeship,
James Iredell was chosen Speaker. This session deserves
to be considered as a memorable one in its influences on the
thoughts of the people. In the Senate, Romulus M. Saun-.
ders, chairman of the Committee on Propositions and Griev¬
ances, was perhaps the busiest member, but A. D. Murphey’s
work was by far the most important. He was chairman of
the committee to which was referred the subject of “free
school education,’’ of that having in charge inland naviga¬
tion, and that to consider the question of calling a conven¬
tion. On all these he made notable reports that are memo¬
rials of his high patriotism and correct logic ; of his wide
information, his clearness of thought and precision of state¬
ment. At this session John M. Walker, who had been
appointed on the committee to recommend a public school
system, submitted a report, saying, however, that there
had been no meeting of the committee. Likewise
Murphey submitted an elaborate report. But while both
were ordered to be printed neither was acted on. The sub¬
ject was left open. There was no adequate fund for the
purpose.

Murphey’s report went fully into the details of a
statewide system of public instruction.

In his report on inland navigation, Murphey said, “The
true foundations of national prosperity and of national glory
must be laid in a liberal system of internal improvements
and of public education : in a system which shall give en¬
couragement to the cultivation of the soil; which shall give

1816

Murphey’s
Papers, Vol.
II

Improvement
of water
routes

252

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION

Murphey’s
Papers, II,
19

Inequality
of represen¬
tation

Murphey’s
Papers, II,
45

force to the faculties of the mind and establish over the
heart the empire of a sound morality." In this report he
describes the effect of the Gulf Stream on the coast of the
State, mentions- that the inlet through which Raleigh’s ships
entered the sound had long been closed, and he recom¬
mended that another should be opened for Albemarle
Sound. He likewise urged the improvement of Ocracoke
Inlet, and of those of the Cape Fear, and the cutting of a
canal from the waters of the Pamlico and Neuse to Beau¬
fort. And he dwelt on the improvement of the river
courses. He recommended the appointment of a board to
have these matters in charge. He repeatedly urged the
construction of a canal connecting the Yadkin with the Cape
Fear.

Among his remarkable reports was that on the subject
of a convention. He showed that 37 counties with 152,586
whites had 1 1 1 members in the Assembly, while 25 counties
with 234,090 whites had only 74 members. A propor¬
tionate representation would reverse this, giving the 37
counties only 75 members. He declared that one-third
of the State governed the other two-thirds, and urged sub¬
mitting the question to the people.

The currency

The financial condition was not satisfactory. Specie was
scarce, and individuals had been issuing their own due bills
that passed to some extent as currency. The Legislature
asked the State Bank to increase its capital stock, so as to
provide additional circulation. The directors gave reasons
why that was not desirable. From this statement it appears
that about 1797, prior to the establishment of any bank,
the circulation in the State was about $300,000 of State
notes, and an equal amount of specie. In 1811, the circu¬
lating medium was about one million dollars, the bank notes,
although less than one-half, being depreciated. Now the
bank circulation was thought to be nine times greater, and

FINANCIAL CONDITIONS

253

any increase of bank issues would lead to depreciation. The
directors mentioned with some show of pride that when at
the North and elsewhere there had been a suspension of spe¬
cie payments the notes of the North Carolina banks were not
depreciated, but passed current everywhere throughout the
Union, and even at different commercial centers brought a
premium, and were in fact measurably a continental cur¬
rency. And indeed that very circumstance might well have
been a source of pride. In September, 1814, the banks at
the North had suspended specie payment, and their notes
depreciated. The New England and New York notes
fell ten per cent; the Baltimore notes 20 per cent; and
others 25 per cent. The stability of the North Carolina
bank notes presented a gratifying contrast. 'Specie pay¬
ments at the North were not resumed until the establish¬
ment of the United States Bank by Congress ; and now that
bank was about to open a branch in North Carolina, sup¬
plying more notes, which was an additional reason for not
further enlarging the paper circulation. The episode well
illustrates the enlightened judgment and business capacity
of the bankers of the State.

The Cherokees

In the autumn of 1806 deputations of the Cherokee
Indians laid before the President their desire to have a
division between the upper and lower towns, and prayed
that those of the upper towns might remain in their pos¬
session and practice agriculture and become civilized ; while
those of the lower towns desired to have other territory
assigned them across the Mississippi River. The President
answered in 1809 conformably to their wishes, and later
a treaty was made in which it was particularly declared that
to every head of an Indian family residing on lands sur¬
rendered to the United States who may wish to become
citizens of the United States, the Government was to allot

North Caro¬
lina bank
notes

254

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION

Statutes at
Large, VII,
157

Progressive

measures

640 acres of land. So the way was opened for the Cher-
okees of the upper towns to become citizens of the United
States. North Carolina purchased from the Cherokees the
territory making Haywood County, but the rights of the
Indians of that region were safely guarded. Their chief
and agent was John Ross, who exerted a great influence for
good among them. The money derived from the sale of
that land became a fund of great importance and benefit to
the State when later opened for entry.

The committee on the erection of a penitentiary made a
favorable report, and presented a bill to erect one at Fayette¬
ville ; but the House preferred Raleigh as the location, and
on December 19, by a vote of 66 to 56 passed the bill with
the amendment. However, it was not acted on in the
Senate. The ’Assembly was not indifferent to propositions
for improvement and subscribed for 150 shares in the Cape
Fear Navigation Company; and authorized a subscription
of $20,000 for cutting the Yadkin canal. However, it re¬
fused to vest in one company under Delacy acting for
Fulton, the right for the exclusive use of steafnboats on
the waters of the State. On December 25 the Assembly
was informed that the Governor's house was finished and
furnished ready for occupancy.

The year 1816 has been called “The year without a sum¬
mer.” North of the Ohio and Potomac, in every month
there were frost, snow and ice and no crops matured. In
the Southern States it was not so bad, but still the result
was damaging in North Carolina and the progressive spirit
of this Assembly may have been moderated by the existing
conditions.

CHAPTER XVII

Steamboats — Fulton Arrives

Branch Governor. — Renewed efforts for transportation and for
education. — Virginia helps on the Roanoke. — New Bern Steam¬
boat Company incorporated. — Education at Wilmington. — Mur-
phey’s plan. — Yancey proposes a Supreme Court. — Conditions in
1818. — Agriculture. — Death of Grove. — Sunday schools. — Gales’s
enterprise. — Other enterprises. — Wild schemes. — Surveys. — Su¬
preme Court established. — Court reports. — New judges. — Divorces.
— Martin proposes taxation for schools. — The House opposed. —
The North Carolina waters. — Introduction of steamboats. — Presi¬
dent Monroe’s visit. — Maps. — Financial distress. — The disastrous
year at Wilmington. — Fulton arrives. — The Mecklenburg Declara¬
tion first published. — Its genesis. — Alexander’s notes. — The ac¬
count of the Declaration altered. — Discredited. — Jones’s defense
of North Carolina. — The Assembly meets. — Portrait of Washing¬
ton. — The Capitol prepared for the statue. — Movement foil a
convention.

Internal improvements

When the Assembly met John Branch of Halifax was at
first chosen Speaker of the Senate and then Governor, to
succeed Governor Miller; Bartlett Yancey taking his place,
as Speaker, and James Iredell becoming Speaker of the
House.

Renewed efforts were made to secure internal improve¬
ments, and to promote education, Murphey being active in
every matter of importance.

As to river improvement, Treasurer Haywood with three
others had been appointed a commission to visit and report
progress made on the Catawba, Yadkin and Cape Fear;
and he reported that but little work had been done. On
the other hand, Murphey declared that in the State at large
the result was gratifying, and that ten millions of dollars
had been added to the value of property in the State. In
particular, was he specific with regard to the operations on
the Roanoke and Dan rivers. The improvement company

1817

Dec., 1816

Branch,

Governor

256

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

The Roanoke

Navigation

Company

The N ew
Bern Com¬
pany

Education

had “commenced its labors, and within less than twelve
months had produced effects that even the most sanguine
had not hoped for; lands had risen more than 100 per cent
in value along many of the waters of the Roanoke. Boats
had been built and produce brought down the Dan into
the Roanoke to the advantage of the State.”

Virginia had proposed to pass the North Carolina act of
incorporation, and to subscribe $80,000 to the stock of the
company, on certain conditions, which on Murphey’s recom¬
mendation the Legislature agreed to. Truly it seemed that
hopes of State betterment would now be realized. There
were several propositions to secure to persons the exclusive
right to navigate streams with steamboats, but only one was
acted on favorably. The New Bern Steamboat Company
was incorporated, to have a capital stock of $100,000 and to
navigate the waters of the State.

Surveys were ordered to be made of all the principal
rivers, and particularly with a view of constructing canals
connecting their waters. The commissioners appointed on
this work were Peter Browne, John Haywood, Joseph
Gales, William Boylan and A. D. Murphey.

Tlie penitentiary

The proposition to establish a penitentiary now had the
sanction of each house, but the controversy between Fayette¬
ville and Raleigh as to the location again defeated the
measure. Public instruction was also more in the thoughts
of the people. At Wilmington where the Innis Academy
was in operation, the ladies asked for and obtained the
incorporation of the Female Benevolent Society, to care
for girls and give them education. At this session both
Walker’s and Murphey’s reports were considered. Both
favored schools at which every child might receive educa¬
tion ; but while Walker’s provided for the raising of money
to pay for the tuition of the poorer children, Murphey’s
report stated that that would be reported on later.

MURPHEY’S EDUCATIONAL SCHEME

257

Martin offered a bill that provided for a fund to be
raised by local taxation, but it was not considered.

Murphey said in his report: “Your committee feels
proud to look back and review the efforts that have been
made in North Carolina to diffuse public instruction. Few
states have afforded such examples of private munificence
for the purpose.” In this he doubtless had reference to the
considerable number of local academies and private schools
that were dotted all through the State affording an oppor¬
tunity to every child whose friends could avail themselves
of it. But Murphey now, as did the others, urged the edu¬
cation of every child, rich as well as poor, by public free
schools.

Indeed, Murphey’s scheme of education was extensive.
It provided for primary schools in the townships, for acad¬
emies, and for the University, although he regarded that
relatively but few would progress beyond the primary school.
The State was to be divided into ten districts, in each of
which an academy was to be established : and the entire
course was to be at the expense of the State. Under the
circumstances, while Murphey’s report was a memorable
exposition of the general subject, illustrating his fine intel¬
ligence and industry, yet it was certainly an impracticable
measure at that period. None of the propositions were
acted on favorably.

Bartlett Yancey, to whom had been referred that part of
the Governor’s message relating to the judiciary, made a
report providing for a Supreme Court, and for a court
to be held in the western part of the State ; but that measure
also failed. However a proposition to revise the Acts of
Assembly and to declare what British Statutes were in force
in the State was adopted.

Senate
Journal,
1816. p. 36

Hoyt: Mur¬
phey Papers,
IT, 63

A glimpse of conditions

A series of articles on agriculture was being published

in the newspapers; in January, 1818, the twenty-fifth of
17

2S8

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

Death of
Grove

Paper mill
Nail factory

the series appeared. The Agricultural Society of North
Carolina had its annual meeting. On the 4th day of July
there was a celebration at Hillsboro where Col. Wm. Shep-
perd presided. The 16th toast was “The Dagon plow,
clover and plaster ; may our farmers learn their use and
duly appreciate their value. ” “Mr. Blount’s cotton crop,
Washington, was 28,164 pounds on 30 acres, 938 pounds
per acre.’’ “Cotton of superior grade, branded Joseph
Chamblee, Yadkin, shipped from Wilmington to New
York” ; “Because of drought, no corn or cotton in Cabarrus” ;
“Evans, Donaldson & Co. will purchase seed cotton at
the factory at Great Falls on the Tar River.” The factory
on the Tar was then in operation.

On the 30th day of March the distinguished public man
and leading Federalist, William B. Grove, passed away at
Fayetteville. He was then president of the branch of the
U. S. Bank located there. He was so highly venerated that
“the inhabitants of the town resolved to wear a token of
mourning for thirty days.” And on the same day at Pilot
Mountain, Mrs. Priscilla Carmichael died at the age of 113
years ; she had nineteen children and her eldest daughter
was 93 years old. The healthiness of that section was in
contrast with the insalubrity of the eastern counties.

Incidents

The Sunday school begun in Raleigh in 1817 had been
followed by one at Poplar Tent in Mecklenburg.

Raleigh’s waterworks were completed; “bringing water
a mile and a half in wooden pipes, raised by force pumps
no feet into a tower whence it descends to a reservoir in
the State House yard.”

Joseph Gales’s paper mill on the Neuse was in operation
and Mitchael Hofifry & Co. had a nail factory at Raleigh.
“Pews of the new Presbyterian Church were to be sold
February 21.” So well managed was the State Bank that
its stock was 30 per cent above par. Raleigh was enjoying

WILD DREAMS OF PROSPERITY

259

a theater. The Cape Fear Navigation Company was im¬
proving the river up to Haywood ; while the company that
had been organized to render navigable the Neuse from
Raleigh to New Bern was so successful in securing sub¬
scriptions that nearly all the shares were taken.

To construct a road from Fayetteville to Morganton,
persons living within two miles of the road were required
to work it. A road from Burke to Charleston by way of
Kings Mountain was already in operation. Joseph Seawell
was authorized to construct a bridge across the Cape Fear
River at Fayetteville, and he and his associates were to
have the exclusive right to navigate the Cape Fear River
with steamboats for seven years on the condition that
they would keep at least one boat in service. The Hen¬
rietta was now plying regularly between Wilmington and
Fayetteville.

State coaches ran to Salem from Raleigh, and to Ply¬
mouth, with steamboat from Plymouth to Edenton ; and
stages ran to New Bern, where the New Bern Steamboat
Company ran to Elizabeth City, with 'stages to Norfolk.
There were two mails a week between Salem and Raleigh.
The State House was now out of repair and needed addi¬
tional room for offices. Henry Potter, Judge Taylor and
Bartlett Yancey were directed to sell city lots to obtain the
funds to make the alterations.

Wild visions

On the return of the Assemblymen to their homes in
February carrying with them the news of the great achieve¬
ments of the Roanoke Navigation Company, with the prom¬
ise that the improvement of the rivers would have similar
results in every portion of the State, there was a period of
unusual interest in public affairs. “The spirit of canal
and river improvement spread like wildfire. There were
dreams of navigating our streams from near their homes
to the ocean. Raleigh was to receive the vessels of Pam-

The

Henrietta

26o

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

The surveys

lico Sound up Neuse River and Walnut Creek. The pro¬
duce of the Yadkin Valley, from the foot of Blowing Rock
was to cross by canal to Deep River and be exported from
Wilmington, and the puffing of steamboats was to echo
from the mountains which look down on the headwaters of
the Catawba and the Broad." Such is the lively picture
drawn by the careful Dr. K. P. Battle.

Under such circumstances a strong Assembly came to
Raleigh. Among the members were Gaston, Saunders
Iredell, Stanly, McKay, Yancey, Murphey, Kenan, Bedford
Brown, Louis D. Wilson, Simmons Baker, Meares, Mebane,
Willie P. Mangum, Charles Fisher, Caldwell of Iredell, and
Zebulon Baird ; and there were others of similar strength.

Ambitious projects

In the Assembly, Murphey submitted a report from the
commission appointed to employ "a principal engineer" and
other engineers and to cause surveys to be made of the
rivers, in which it was said that no “principal engineer"
could be obtained in this country, for all competent men were
otherwise employed ; that their chairman, Peter Browne,
had gone to England and the commissioners had requested
him to engage one abroad. A detailed report of the several
surveys made was submitted. Dr. Caldwell and Prof.
Mitchell made the survey of the Yadkin Narrows and
Great Falls. John Price, the compiler of the map of the
State, and Clemens made several surveys. Surveys were
made of the Cape Fear, the Yadkin, and other streams;
and routes for canals connecting several of them. Nor
was the project of developing water transportation con¬
fined to the streams. Murphey proposed a survey for in¬
land communication from Pamlico Sound to the Cape Fear ;
and from the Cape Fear to South Carolina. If most of
this was visionary, some substantial action was taken, and
work was ordered to remove the obstructions of the Cape
Fear River below Wilmington. Whatever doubts mav have

SUPREME COURT ESTABLISHED

261

been entertained about the efficiency of water transportation
were dissipated, progress was now to be made.

The Supreme Court

And in the fullness of time, the judicial system of the
State was given its final form. The Court of Conference
had been replaced by a Supreme Court, of which each of
the Superior Court judges was a potential member, only
two being necessary for a quorum. Of the Court of Con¬
ference John Louis Taylor was the Chief Justice and the
only one. It had a seal and the judges were required to
write out their opinions ; but in some states there were
Supreme Court judges who only heard appeals, and year
after year there were propositions to establish such a high
court in North Carolina. At length in 1818 Gaston presented
such a measure and it was passed. Three Supreme Court
judges were to be elected. When organized, the court chose
Taylor its Chief Justice. Along with the establishment of
this court, the Legislature provided a salary of $500 for a The reports
reporter, who was to furnish the State 142 copies of reports
of decisions. Before that there had been published at pri¬
vate venture reports compiled by Francois Xavier Martin
containing decisions of the Superior Court and of the U. S.

Circuit Court; by Judge John Haywood reports containing
decisions of the Superior Court, Court of Conference, and
the Federal courts, between 1797 and 1806. Chief Justice
Taylor published reports for 1799, and Conference reports,
and Archibald Murphey published reports for 1804 to 1810.

Taylor also published the North Carolina Law Repository,
the first volume containing State reports for 1811 and 1812
and selected decisions elsewhere, along with sketches of
eminent jurists; and this was followed by a second volume
in 1815, and Taylor's Term Reports in 1816. Murphey
then published a report for 1817. Such had been the pub¬
lications up to the time of the organization of the new
Supreme Court and the employment of a State reporter.

262

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

Divorces

allowed

Senate

Journal

1818

The Legislature also now appointed Henry Potter, Bart¬
lett Yancey and Chief Justice Taylor to revise the statutes
of the State.

Changes on the bench

There being three vacancies on the Superior Court bench,
John Paxton, John D. Toomer and Frederick Nash were
chosen. Neither Paxton nor Toomer remained long on
the bench, although Judge Toomer was eminent in the pro¬
fession; but it was the beginning of an illustrious judicial
career for Judge Nash. A few days later, the Assembly
adopted a resolution that in its opinion no judge ought to be
a director in any bank and contemporaneously with the
adoption of that resolution, Judge Ruffin, who was hardly
warm in his seat on the bench, resigned and his preceptor
in law, Mr. Murphey, succeeded him.

In 1814, the Superior courts were authorized to grant
divorces from bed and board and to allow alimony, but
the Legislature reserved to itself the right of granting
absolute divorces, annulling the marriage tie ; the practice
as to these being for the court to examine the witnesses and
present the facts to the Legislature for its action. Now,
four years later, the Superior courts were for the first time
vested with the power of granting absolute divorces.

The House opposed to taxes

William Martin of Pasquotank from the Committee
on Public Instruction reported , a bill authorizing the county
courts to establish one or more public schools in each cap¬
tain’s district; the teacher to be paid, two-thirds by the pay
pupils and one-third by taxation ; the poor children shall
be taught free and books furnished them. This was some¬
what similar to the Massachusetts system. This bill passed
the Senate 52 to 2, but it was postponed in the House.
Such was the fate of every effort to establish schools by
taxation. The Senate, being perhaps of a higher order of

SOUNDS AND RIVERS

263

statesmanship than the House, was hampered by the major¬
ity of that body, although there were many members of
fine intelligence in the House also. The failure to move
forward now was an illustration of the inaction of a too
conservative democracy.

Tlie North Carolina waters

From the Virginia line to South Carolina the ocean bank
is generally a sand ridge varying in width from a few
miles to a hundred yards, but with capes jutting out as at
Hatteras and Lookout and at the mouth of the Cape Fear.
Within the banks at the north are Albemarle and Pamlico
sounds, whose waters extend westward over a hundred
miles to the mouths of the Chowan, Roanoke, Tar and
Neuse; and there are inlets breaking through the banks,
the principal ones being near Roanoke Island and at Ocra-
coke. Lower down are Beaufort harbor and the mouth of
the Cape Fear River. From the water level for more
than one hundred miles inland is the Coastal Plain that
rises about a foot to the mile, often being so level that
water barely passes ofif. Here are the great swamps that
were a menace to health, while too vast to be drained
through private enterprise. But here also were great forests
that yielded lumber and naval stores for export.

Along the western confines of this plain were the rocks
that made the falls in the river courses, as in the counties of
Halifax, Nash, Wake, Moore, and Montgomery; and now
began the Piedmont region, gently rising for two hundred
miles to the mountains, with hills here and there almost
mountainous. Then at the west is the Blue Ridge, running
from the South Carolina line to Ashe County, curving and
with a broken chord between the eastern extremities. Be¬
yond the Blue Ridge are ranges and spurs to the Alle-
ghanies, with valleys and plateaus, and nearly a hundred
peaks reaching six thousand feet, all covered with rich soil
and clothed in verdure. In Ashe County New River runs

264

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

northward, flowing into the Ohio; while Toe River
passes into Tennessee, as do the French Broad and
other western streams. But the Catawba and Yadkin, rising
on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, run northward,
until reaching more level beds, they bend to the eastward
and finally turn sharply to the southward, the Catawba
passing into South Carolina west of Charlotte, and the
Yadkin keeping some fifty miles farther east. The Catawba
in its courses is generally placid and with only a slight
current, and navigable for boats, but with some shallows
here and there; and so with the Yadkin until it reaches,
in Montgomery County, the gorge formed by the en¬
croachment of the Uwharrie Mountains upon its channel.
There it suddenly plunges a sheer cataract of ten feet into
the head of the Narrows through which it passes a swift
torrent, compressed into a width of sixty feet, for nearly
three miles; then leaving the gorge, it at once expands into
a breadth of a thousand yards, and becomes a scene of
verdure caused by the Grassy Islands.

Along the Virginia line, the Dan, rising in Stokes County,
courses eastward, passes into Virginia, where it joins the
Roanoke which presently comes into the State, being a
wide and placid stream until it reaches the rapids in Halifax
County ; its waters finally emptying into Albemarle Sound.

The Haw and the Deep in the central counties unite and
form the Cape Fear that from Fayetteville down is a gentle,
wide and deep stream. The Tar and the Neuse, draining the
middle counties, also in their lower courses are navigable.
Such in brief was the water system, which now it was
proposed to utilize as far as practicable for transportation.
The scheme was by no means Utopian. To succeed, how¬
ever, required a considerable expenditure and intelligent
work. Shoals and obstacles were to be removed and their
subsequent formation from natural causes guarded against,
and the conditions were not favorable for a realization of
the hopes now entertained.

STEAMBOAT PROMOTERS

265

Introduction of steamboats

In 1813 John Devereux Delacy came to New Bern as the
representative of Robert Fulton, where there was also a
representative of Stevens who had been engaged with Fulton
earlier, but having separated, was now engaged in the same
business Fulton was following — building steamboats for use
in any desirable waters. North Carolina had not only
her rivers but her inland sounds, and the possibilities of
pecuniary returns were apparent. At that period the boats
and machinery were so imperfect that the speed was only
about four and a half miles an hour.

Application was made in behalf of Stevens, for the exclu¬
sive right to navigate the waters of the State, but the As¬
sembly annexed a condition that was not acceptable ; Delacy
likewise made an application for the exclusive right to navi¬
gate the Neuse for a number of years: nor was that appli¬
cation favorably considered. Robert Fulton died in 1816,
but Delacy remained, and on the formation of the Neuse
Navigation Company, he associated himself with that com¬
pany and was engaged with its affairs. He continued at
New Bern, and in 1818 a steamboat was plying from New
Bern to Elizabeth City. Some years later Delacy offered
to sell his interest in steamboats to the State at the price
of thirty thousand dollars, but the offer was not accepted.
It is said that the Clermont, the first steamboat to ascend
the Hudson, was sold at the South. As Delacy was the agent
of Fulton to place his steamboats, it is probable that the
Clermont was brought to New Bern. The first use of
steamboats at New Bern appears to have been to open a
route to Norfolk and the North by steamer from New Bern
to Elizabeth City, and then, overland to Norfolk. For that
service the Clermont was well adapted. She was 133 feet
lon<r, 18 feet wide and her hull 9 feet deep. While well
suited for the sound, she drew too much water to ascend
the Neuse very high up. Efforts were made to clear Neuse

New Bern
and

Elizabeth

City

266

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

Edenton* and
Plymouth

Battle Hist.
Univ., 252.

The Cape
Fear

River of obstacles, but if steamboats were used they did not
at that period ascend far. And in 1846, Governor Graham
mentioned as something new that a steamboat was then
plying the Neuse, and another on the Tar.

In 1818 the Edenton and Plymouth Steamboat Company
had been incorporated and a steamer ran between Plymouth
and Edenton. Of this Dr. Mitchell makes mention. He
was bringing his bride from Connecticut. They reached
Norfolk by steamboat from Baltimore, and then over land
eleven miles to the head of Dismal Swamp Canal. The
canal boat was twenty feet long and it was drawn by horse
four miles an hour for twenty-two miles. Arriving at
Edenton, they found the steamboat had gone. On reaching
Plymouth they took the stage to Raleigh.

The first steamboat on the Cape Fear seems to have been
the Prometheus in 1818. A joint stock company had been
formed for the purpose of having a steamer built to ply
between Wilmington and Smithville or Wilmington and
Fayetteville. Captain Otway Burns, of privateer Snap
Dragon fame during the war of 1812, was the contractor.
The boat was built at Beaufort where he resided. When
the company was informed that the steamer was ready for
delivery they dispatched an experienced sea captain to
bring her to her destined port. Expectations were on tiptoe.
A feverish excitement existed in the community, which
daily increased, as nothing was heard of him for a time,
but early one morning this anxiety broke into the wildest
enthusiasm when it was announced that the Prometheus
was in the river. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and the en¬
tire population, without regard to age, sex or color, thronged
the wharves to welcome her arrival. The tide was at the
ebb, and the struggle between the advancing steamer and
the fierce current was a desperate one, for she panted fear¬
fully, as though wind-blown and exhausted. She could
be seen in the distance, enveloped in smoke, and the scream
of her high pressure engine reverberated through the woods,

QUICK FREIGHT SERVICE

267

while she slowly but surely crept along. As she neared
Market Dock, the captain called through his speaking
trumpet to the engineer below, “Give it to her, Snyder,”
and while Snyder gave her all the steam she could bear,
the laboring Prometheus snorted by, amid the cheers of the
excited multitude.

On the Cape Fear the Henrietta was plying in 1818. The
Clarendon Steamboat Company was organized at Wil¬
mington in 1818 and all its stock quickly taken, while at
Fayetteville James Seawell was the master mind in planning
and executing. In the fall of. 1818 he obtained an act of
Assembly vesting in himself and associates the exclusive
privilege for the period of seven years of running steam¬
boats between Fayetteville and Wilmington; but others were
to be allowed, if licensed by him. He likewise obtained
authority to build a toll bridge across the river at Fayette¬
ville near the steamboat landing. He appears to have fos¬
tered the building pf boats by others, for four years later,
the Legislature passed an act incorporating under the name
of the Cape Fear Steamboat Company the proprietors of
all the steamboats then plying on the river. The capital
stock was. to be $60,000.

Apparently, the first steamboat built on the river was the
City of Fayetteville. “It was launched not far from the
Clarendon bridge, and it has been related that some one
having prophesied that it would turn turtle when it reached
the water, the architect boldly rode in its bow, as it slipped
off its ways and the event justified his faith in his work.”

Then came the Henrietta , the Fanny Lutterloh, the Cot¬
ton Plant, and others. In 1819 the Fayetteville Observer
mentioned merchandise purchased in New York, March 27,
and shipped the 29th, reached Wilmington April 6, and was
received at Fayetteville by the Steamer Henrietta in eight
days . . . and before the bill of lading had reached
Fayetteville by mail.

Sprunt:
Cape Fear
Chronicles,
139

Ibid., 151

268

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

April, 1819

The

engineers
at Nags
Head

Maps

Hoyt: Mur-
phey Papers,
II, 180

In 1825, at the end of seven years, the Cotton Plant
Steamboat Company was incorporated.

And while Seawell and his associates were securing trans¬
portation on the water, the people at the west were co¬
operating and making efforts to obtain turnpike roads to
Morganton, and to Salem and Wilkesboro ; and a good road
had been built to Raleigh.

♦

Monroe’s visit

In April, 1819, President Monroe made a tour through
the South, and, accompanied by John C. Calhoun, the Secre¬
tary of War, and some of the Army Engineers, he went
from Edenton across to Roanoke Island and Nags Head to
examine the situation in regard to opening an inlet into
Albemarle Sound. He visited Plymouth; and traveled by
land to Washington, where a salute of twenty-one guns was
given him ; and indeed everywhere he received a great ova¬
tion. He then pursued his journey southward to New Bern
and Wilmington. On April 12, he and his suite were met
at Scotts Hill by the Wilmington Light-horse and escorted
to the town. The next day, accompanied by A. D. Murphey,
he was shown the salt works still in operation at Wrights-
ville, and then the steamer Prometheus carried his party to
Fort Johnston, on the way to Charleston.

It is difficult to realize what obstacles the public men of
that period encountered for the want of accurate informa¬
tion about the State. There were no maps. Jonathan
Price and Strother proposed to make a map of the State,
but the Legislature being applied to for assistance had de¬
nied any aid; fortunately Judge Stone and Peter Browne
gave some assistance and the enterprise went forward.
However, one-sixth of the State at the west remained
without any survey, and very imperfectly portrayed. Still
a few years later when Turner was preparing his atlas in¬
cluding the countries of the world and each American

DISTRESS AND DISASTER

269

state, he complimented this map as being the best of any
state.

The movement for transportation led to surveys in the
central and eastern parts of the State and brought out much
information of value.

The geological structure of the Piedmont section par¬
ticularly was explored and interesting facts connected with
the falls in the various rivers on passing into the Coastal
plain were brought to public attention, particular surveys
being made by Dr. Mitchell, President Caldwell and others.

Financial distress

In 1819 there was widespread financial distress through¬
out the State. The policies introduced in 1815 had borne
some fruit. The movement for internal improvements had
brought hope of advanced values and of local development.

And so an era of speculation set in. But the progress was
not commensurate with the expectations while the main
cause of the backward condition of the State remained.

In the absence of adequate transportation facilities the prod¬
ucts of the industrious inhabitants were of small value at
home, and carried to a market elsewhere, other communi¬
ties profited from them, while merchants in other states
derived the profit from supplying necessary goods to the
people of North Carolina. It was to remove these obstacles
to prosperity that a great effort was now made by the lead¬
ing men. But for the present the condition was bad. The
banks suspended specie payments. Many persons became
insolvent.

This vear has been called “the disastrous vear" for the .

\\ ilmington

little town of Wilmington, whose white population was
barely a thousand. First, in the summer the dreadful scourge
of yellow fever that was more prevalent through the South
Atlantic region than usual, prevailed in the town : and
then in November a conflagration almost destroyed it.

“Thrice, ” said the Wilmington Recorder, “within twenty

270

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

Sprunt:
Cape Fear
Chronicles,
104

1819

years has the devouring element laid in ashes the abodes
of her inhabitants. . . . Enterprise, industry, and the assist¬
ance of her neighbors gave her measurably resuscitation,
until the recent pressure of the times bended her down al¬
most to the sinking point. Embarrassments in pecuniary
matters had reached that state which appeared to baffle
relief. Sickness and death followed in the melancholy
train. Despair had almost concluded that she could not
sink beyond this. Hope pointed to better days. Disease
had ceased, the deserted abodes of her inhabitants filling,
vessels arriving daily in her port. Then the fire ; the de¬
lusion vanished. There were about three hundred houses
destroyed and the loss of property was between six and
seven hundred thousand dollars. ” The fever that attacked
Wilmington also prevailed elsewhere in the State. At
Fayetteville there were several deaths, and elsewhere com¬
munities suffered.

On April 11 the first Presbyterian Church ever erected at
Wilmington was dedicated and Rev. Mr. Boice was or¬
dained and installed as pastor. “It was but a few years
past that there was but one minister of that place and he of
the Methodist persuasion. The Episcopal Church was in
a ruinous and neglected state ; since which time it has been
repaired, galleries added, and an organ obtained ; a Meth¬
odist meeting house built, and the Presbyterian Church ;
over all are clergymen.”

Fulton arrives

Hamilton Fulton, the English Engineer employed by
Peter Browne, arrived in June, 1819, and found himself in
the presence of novel conditions. But on the departure of
Browne for England, Murphey had been chosen a member
of the Board of Internal Improvements to supply the va¬
cancy; and he was likewise chosen chairman of the board;
and as such he prepared a memoir of the situation in the
State for the information and instruction of Fulton, the first

MECKLENBURG DECLARATION

271

object in view being to render the rivers navigable, not
for steamboats, but for flat boats, carrying produce from
river landings down the stream to some point for shipment.

To this end, the Catawba and the Yadkin and other rivers
were deemed navigable almost to the mountains.

Murphey’s memoir indicates such a thorough examination
of details and such a copious volume of information that Jhey Paper's,
of itself it establishes Judge Murphey in the front rank n> 103
of North Carolinians.

Fulton had been employed in important works in several
countries of Europe and rated his services at 1200 pounds
per annum. While his residence was at Raleigh, his em¬
ployment led him to make examination of all the rivers.

The Mecklenburg Declaration

On the 30th day of April, 1819, there was published in
the Register at Raleigh a paper writing giving an account
of a patriotic convention held at Charlotte, May 20, 1775, at
which resolutions declaring independence were adopted.

It had happened that the records of the Committee of
Safety of Mecklenburg County were in the possession of
Col. John McKnitt Alexander, and his residence having .
been burnt down in April, 1800, these records were then
destroyed. Soon afterwards he undertook to reproduce
the resolves of the committee adopted in May, 1775, and
this is what he wrote :

On the 19th May 1775 Pursuant to the Order of Col. Adam
Alexander to each Captain of Militia in his regiment of Meck¬
lenburg County, to elect nominate and appoint 2 persons of
their Militia company, cloathed with ample powers to devise
ways and means to extricate themselves and ward off the dread¬
ful impending storms bursting on them by the British Nation
&&&

Therefore on sd. 19th May the sd. Committee met in Char¬
lotte Town (2 men from each company) Vested with all powers
these their constituents had or conceived they had &&&

After a short conference about their suffering brethren be-
seiged and suffering every hardship in Boston and the American
Blood running in Lexington &&& the Electrical fire flew into
every breast and to preserve order choose Abraham Alex Es-

272

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

quire chairman & J. McK. A. Secretary. After a few Hour free
discussion in order to give relief to suffering America and
protect our Just & natural right.

1st. We, (the County) by a solemn and awful vote, dissolved
our allegiance to King George and the British Nation.

2nd. Declared ourselves a free & independent people, hav¬
ing a right and capable to govern ourselves (as a part of North
Carolina)

3rd. In order to have laws as a rule of life — for our future
Government. We formed a Code of laws, by adopting our former
wholesome laws.

4th. And as there was then no officers civil or military in our
County we decreed that every Militia officer in sd. county should
hold and occupy his former commission and Grade and that
every member present, of this Committee shall henceforth as
a Justice of the Peace.

After reading and maturing every paragraph they were all
passed Nem. Com. about 12 o’clock May 20, 1775, etc.

The original manuscript is still preserved at the University
of North Carolina.

Later, some unknown person with the above as a basis,
prepared the paper that was published in the Register in
1819. The fact that some such action was taken in Meck¬
lenburg in 1775 was known by Col. William Polk and others ;
but some of the statements made in the published paper
being known to be incorrect, Colonel Polk and Judge Mur-
phey and later Judge Martin, who wrote a history of the
State, subsequently altered the account in the paper to con¬
form to their views. Ten years later in 1839, in the ab¬
sence of anything to the contrary, on the recommendation
of a committee, the General Assembly resolved that the
corrected paper be printed as the proceedings in Mecklen¬
burg County and that has since been known as “May 20.”

It will be observed that Colonel Alexander himself wrote
about the “election of committeemen on the 19th of May,"
and the meeting of the committee on the same day and its
proceedings. When his notes were being written out in full
by some unknown person, the conflicting statements, doubt¬
less were observed ; and to avoid the conflict, the election
of committeemen on the 19th was omitted and that date

DEFENSE OF NORTH CAROLINA

273

was erroneously attached to the meeting — the committeemen
were changed to delegates and the committee meeting to
a convention. Such appears to have been the origin of the
account of any meeting on the 19th, the day when the com¬
mitteemen were elected. Up to 1835 there was no knowl¬
edge of any contemporaneous publication relating, to this
episode, but then and afterwards the contemporaneous ac¬
count of the action taken at Charlotte by the Committee of
Safety on May 31 was found in several newspapers of
June, 1775. The proceedings and resolves being so simi¬
lar, it is apparent that they were what Colonel Alexander
remembered and sought to reproduce in 1800. After these
discoveries the account written in 1800 by some unknown
person of a Convention of Delegates at Charlotte on May
20, was discredited and the contemporaneous publications
of the proceedings of the Committee of Safety elected as
Colonel Alexander wrote were accepted ; so the Legislature
of 1850, in making reference to the “Mecklenburg Decla¬
ration” said “May, 1775.” In Johnston’s Cyclopedia is an
article attributed by the editors to Governor William A.
Graham, in which it is stated that there was only one meet¬
ing at Charlotte and it was held on May 31; that there
was no meeting on May 20.

When the publication was made in the Register in 1819
it attracted the particular attention of John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson, who had been promoters of independ¬
ence in 1776. Jefferson, in his comment, cast aspersions
on Hooper and Hewes, our delegates in the Continental
Congress. His charges led a patriotic citizen, Joseph Sea-
well Jones, to prepare a Defense of North Carolina, pub¬
lished perhaps at the expense of Maj. William Gibbs Mc¬
Neill, of Bladen County, previously an officer of the United
States Engineers, but then perhaps the greatest of the civil
engineers of this country, resident in Boston. This Defense
of North Carolina was the first historical publication made

by any citizen of the State, a volume of 340 pages, con-
18

Johnston’s
Cyclopedia,
Vol. V., 329

Jones’s de¬
fense

2/4

STEAMBOATS— FULTON ARRIVES

Branch,

Governor

The portrait
and statue of
Washington

Hoyt: Mur-
phey’s Re¬
port

taining much valuable historical matter then first published.
It was a complete answer to Jefferson's aspersions, and
Jones's work was admirably done. Later, in 1838, Jones
published a lovely volume, Memorials of North Carolina,
dealing with the first settlement in Queen Elizabeth’s time,
highly imaginative and beautifully written, but indicating
much research and literary attainment.

When the Assembly met Yancey was chosen Speaker by
the Senate and Saunders by the House, and Branch was
elected Governor.

Two portraits of General Washington had been ordered,
one for each room occupied by the Assembly; and the mar¬
ble statue. One of the portraits, made by Sully, had been
set up in the House of Commons and Governor Branch
suggested that the order for the other might be changed to a
portrait of some North Carolina patriot. At any rate, he
said the portrait was too large to go into the room used for
a Senate Chamber. As the statue of Washington was now
soon to arrive the Assembly raised a committee to consider
where it should be placed. At first there was a proposition
to erect a separate building for it, but on the recommenda¬
tion of Mr. Nichols, the State Architect, that idea was
abandoned. Instead, it was proposed to make alterations
in the State House, providing suitable space for the statue,
and also a place for the Supreme Court and a larger room for
the Senate and other rooms for committees. This idea
was adopted and $25,000 was appropriated for the purpose.
The new building was to be three stories high. There was
to be a spacious rotunda, with colonnades and ornamenta¬
tion in keeping with the statue.

At this session, 1819, Mangum presented a resolution
reciting at length many of the alleged defects of the Con¬
stitution and submitting the question of a convention to the
voters. It was discussed with warmth, but finally was
defeated.

CHAPTER XVIII

Improved Conditions

The towns. — Judge Murphey on Supreme Court. — Branch’s
message. — School at Raleigh. — The Western College. — Parlia¬
mentary practice. — The Agricultural Society. — The Slavery prob¬
lem. — The freed negroes. — The Colonization Society. — The differ¬
ing sentiments. — The Missouri Compromise. — Causes of concern.
— Governor Franklin’s message. — Dissatisfaction with Fulton. —
The Literary Fund. — Roanoke River improvement. — Statue of
Washington placed in Capitol. — Holmes Governor. — Death of
Franklin. — Donations to the University. — Holmes urges improve¬
ment of rivers and of roads and that agriculture be taught at
University and all youths educated. — Board of Agriculture. —
Imprisonment for debt modified. — Improvement of the Cape Fear.
— The Western Convention. — The Episcopalians organize. — The
first Geological Survey. — The canal from Great Falls extended
to Weldon. — Pressure for schools. — Negroes not allowed to mus¬
ter as militia. — Episcopalians allowed to build on Moore Square.

The relative importance of the towns of the State is
somewhat indicated by the census returned for 1820.

Fayetteville, at the head of the water navigation and the
commercial mart for a large portion of western country,
had 1,918 whites; New Bern, the commercial center of the
middle east, 1,475; Raleigh, the seat of government, al¬
though so new, 1,177; Wilmington, with its commercial
importance and but little back country, 1,098; Salisbury 743 ;
Edenton 634; Washington 474.

Changes in the Judiciary

At the June term of the Supreme Court Judge Murphey,
by letters missive issued by the Governor, sat on the Supreme
Court to hear certain cases in which some of the justices
had been employed. Later that authority was taken from
the executive, and Judge Murphey was the only Superior
judge who ever sat on the Supreme Court. And in that
year some changes occurred among the judiciary, for Judge

1820

276

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

Judge

Badger

The tariff

Senate
Journal, 92

Public lands

Ibid., 93

At Raleigh

Murphey, after a year's service retired from the bench,
being oppressed by pecuniary losses incurred in land specu¬
lations and as surety for others. To succeed him Governor
Branch appointed William Norwood of Hillsboro.

Also, Willie P. Mangum, who had likewise served but a
year, resigned and was succeeded by George E. Badger, who
was destined to play even a greater part in public affairs
than either Murphey or Mangum.

It appears as if the office of Superior Court judge was
thought to be more desirable for its opportunities to lay a
basis for public life than for a judicial career. The salary
was so small compared with the earnings at the bar.

Governor Branch in his message called attention to the
deplorable condition of the people of the State and the effect
of the depreciation of the bank currency incident to the sus¬
pension of specie payments, and he emphasized the adverse
effects on conditions of an increase in the tariff. He recited
that our agricultural products were at a very low price, and
the State was suffering from the exactions imposed by the
Federal Government. As a result, the Legislature adopted a
resolution instructing the Senators and requesting the Repre¬
sentatives in Congress to oppose any increase in the tariff.

And since Congress had appropriated much public land
in the new states for schools, the Senators were instructed
and RepresentatAes requested to have a similar appropria¬
tion of land for the use of public schools in North Carolina.

Fayetteville, not to be behind Raleigh in improvement,
now applied for and received authority to have waterworks.
But Raleigh under the influence of Joseph Gales had taken
a still further step in advance. The ladies of that city
had begun an organized effort to help the poor girls and
educate the poor children of their community similar to
the action at Wilmington, and an act was passed : —
“Whereas many ladies of Raleigh have associated them¬
selves for the purpose of relieving distressed females and
to promote the education of poor children,” the association

LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE

277

was incorporated, the officers being “a first directress, a
secretary and twenty managers.”

At that session steps were taken in regard to “The Great
State road that ran from Fayetteville to Morganton, and
then through Ashe County to Tennessee.”

And as the Western people were not able to send their
boys to the University to their satisfaction, they desired a
western college to be of the same grade as the University,
and on their application a charter was granted for “a
western college.”

Governor Branch’s three years having expired, Jesse
Franklin was now elected Governor; and as there were
“neither carpeting nor furniture of any kind in the second
story of the Governor’s Palace,” $1,000 was appropriated to
supply them.

Under the rules of the Assembly when a bill had passed
one reading in one house it was sent to the other house,
and then after it was acted on it was returned ; and then
when acted on, it was again sent to the other ; the bill being
bandied about for three readings in each house. Now that
rule was abrogated, and every bill was perfected in the
house where it originated, and having passed its three read¬
ings there it was transmitted to the other house for action.

The Agricultural Society

The Agricultural Society of the State was for a time in
fine efficiency. Its corresponding secretary was George
W. Jeffreys of Person County. Jeffreys was energetic in
his efforts to promote agriculture in the State. He ob¬
tained a collection of some twenty or thirty letters on the
subject of improvement in Virginia and Pennsylvania and
in February, 1820, from Raleigh he sent them for publica¬
tion to the American Farmer at Baltimore, the first agricul¬
tural journal started in this country and a very important
one, having a considerable patronage in North Carolina.
These letters would make some fifty or sixty pages — quarto

Acts 1820,
Ch. 75

The Western
College

Franklin,

Governor

Change in
passing bills

Jeffrey’s

work

278

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

Efforts to

promote

agriculture

The manu¬
mission
societies

— and were addressed to Mr. Jeffreys. The editor, John W.
Skinner, announced them as a “Valuable Collection from
Colonel Taylor and John Taylor of Caroline, the Fathers of
Improvement in Southern Husbandry; from Thomas Jef¬
ferson; Judge Richard Peters of Pennsylvania, Thomas
Marshall (brother of the Chief Justice) Josiah Quincy of
Massachusetts and other citizens distinguished for talents
and public spirit. It seems to be due to propriety and
gratitude to record our acknowledgments to Mr. Jeffreys for
the honor and benefit he has conferred on this Journal in
having selected it as a medium worthy of conveying to the
public the contents of these valuable papers. Many of them
were addressed to Mr. Jeffreys as Corresponding Secretary
of the Agricultural Society in North Carolina.’’ Later
Jeffreys communicated his thoughts on deep ploughing and
the proper way to plant corn. Incidentally he said: “If
I were asked what was the first and cardinal principle to be
kept in view in the improvement of land, I should answer,
the gradual deepening of the soil.” Unfortunately, the
Society did not long flourish.

Slavery: The Missouri Compromise

During the last year of Governor Branch’s administra¬
tion the subject of slavery opened up a very bitter sectional
controversy. The South was not indifferent to the general
subject, but whatever feeling there was favorable to manu¬
mission was checked by the continued presence of the freed
slave. About 1816 manumission societies began to be
formed, chiefly, however, among the Quakers, although
there were others cooperating. Ten years later there were
forty branches in the State, of which twenty-three reported
more than one thousand members. And it was said that
in three years two thousand slaves were emancipated in
the State, a statement that the census enumeration of free
blacks seems to sustain. But not content with that, Levi
Coffin, an active Quaker about New Garden, devised and

MANUMISSION SOCIETIES

279

put into operation a system of running off slaves into free
territory. This was successfully carried on for years, and,
later, to such an extent that it was known as the “Under¬
ground Railroad." The problem of the free negro led in
1818 to the formation of the American Colonization Society.
The Assembly of North Carolina had passed a resolution
proposing that Congress should set aside in the far west, on
the Pacific Ocean, a territory which the free blacks might
occupy; but the project did not materialize. The American
Colonization Society of which Judge Bushrod Washington
of Virginia was president, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson and
other influential Southerners were members, had in view
their colonization in Africa.

In 1819 Rev. William Meade of Virginia, (Bishop
Meade) was sent south as an agent to organize branch
societies. He formed societies at Raleigh, where Governor
Branch was president, Colonel Polk, Judge Taylor, Joseph
Gales and thirty-five others were members ; and societies
were formed at Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Hills¬
boro, Edenton and eight other points, among the members
being men of prominence in public affairs.

Moses Swaim, president of the Manumission Society and
the editor of a newspaper at Greensboro devoted to that
interest, said about that time that “there were no newspapers
in the State earnestly defending slavery; that about half
the people were ready to support schemes of emancipation,
one-sixth deemed it impracticable and relatively a small
number were bitterly opposed." The sentiment against
slavery was natural to many, but the difficulties of the situa¬
tion forbade emancipation unless accompanied by coloniza¬
tion. Besides, the property was valuable, and especially in
the eastern counties most of the families were pecuniarily
interested and, without the slaves, their extensive planta¬
tions would be relatively valueless for the want of labor.
The value of a man between fifteen and forty-five years of
age was about $500, and, of a woman, $350; and men ac-

The North

Carolina

proposition

The coloni¬
zation society

The senti¬
ment

Weeks : So.
Hist. Assn.,
XI, 2, 110

28o

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

Missouri

The compro
mise

A different
question

customed to slavery who had inherited slave property were
loath to give it up. Such was the condition when slavery
in Missouri became a political question.

In 1820 the antagonism that New England had displayed
towards the purchase of Louisiana again manifested itself.
The Territory of Missouri, a part of that purchase, in
December, 1819, applied for admission as a state, slavery
being already established there.

An amendment was proposed to the bill to admit her,
looking to making her a “free state.” The North had a
majority in the House, and the amendment was adopted;
but in the Senate it was stricken out. About the same
time Maine applied to be admitted, and the northern mem¬
bers were willing for the two states to come in together ; but
while abandoning the amendment to the Missouri bill, they
proposed instead that slavery should not exist elsewhere in
the Louisiana purchase north 36° 30' which is the line
of the southern boundary of Missouri. This was agreed
to, and the agreement has been known as the “Missouri
Compromise.” All south of that line was to be open to
the slaveholder; but north of it was to be “free-soil.” On
that basis Missouri was to be admitted. But a new ques¬
tion arose that delayed her admission. In forming her
State constitution the convention inserted a requirement that
the Legislature should prohibit the coming into the State
of any free negro. This was strongly objected to bv
northern representatives and the State was not admitted.
Linally in Lebruary, 1821, an act was passed admitting the
State on condition that the Legislature should never pass
such a law; and in June, the Legislature solemnly agreed
to that as a fundamental condition; so in August, 1821,
Missouri was admitted as a State in the Union. This
struggle over the admission of Missouri, extending through
eighteen months of hot controversy, was marked by great bit¬
terness, and the sectional animosity engendered ran high.
A correspondent of Bartlett Yancey, writing from Wash-

EXCITEMENT OVER SLAVERY

281

ington February, 1820, said: “In truth the discussion of this
matter has been of the most alarming character to the people
of the southern and western states. These Yankee folks
have a sort of notion that they can emancipate our slaves,
and have broadly hinted at the practicability and expediency
of such a measure. The agitation of this question has
created great warmth and excitement here. One would
suppose from the storm that has been blowing here that the
whole Nation was in a ferment.”

Mrs. Seaton, writing from Washington during this debate, ^nt intense
said : “Congress has been occupied during three weeks in
the discussion of the Missouri bill. The excitement during
this protracted debate has been intense. The galleries are
now crowded with colored persons, almost to the exclusion
of the whites. The Senators and members generally are so
excited that unless their angry passions are allowed to
effervesce in speaking the most terrible consequences are
apprehended even by experienced statesmen. On the one
side there was talk of breaking up the Union, on the other
the North would never assent to the extension of slavery.”

At length that session at which the compromise was made,
closed in May ; at the next session, the question was again
opened, about the exclusion of free negroes in Missouri.

Maine had long been admitted, and all wanted the bargain
to be enforced.

Mr. Clay was then instrumental in securing the adoption
by the House of the act of Congress with its “fundamental
condition” that opened the way for Missouri to conform Missouri’s
to the will of the northern congressmen'; and he became admisslon
known as “the pacificator.”

Conditions at home

The year 1821 appears to have been remarkable for cir- 1821
cumstances that gave concern. Financial distress pervaded
the State, and to such an extent at the west that further
time was allowed to those who had purchased State lands;

282

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

Insurrection

Progressive

ideas

Fulton un¬
satisfactory

while the- act of Congress, called the Navigation act, with
respect to the British colonial system, bore so hard on the
commerce of the eastern ports that a resolution was adopted
calling on representatives in Congress to ask its repeal.

Besides, - the yellow fever had been so violent at Wil¬
mington that the session of the Superior Court could not be
held there in the fall. Then there was an insurrection
among the negroes in Onslow, Carteret and Jones counties,
as well as in Bladen County. There had been trouble in
1810, and now ten years later, the outbreak was both more
widespread and violent. The militia had been called out to
suppress the rising, and indeed, the constant possibility of
insurrection required that attention should ever be given to
the militia, and a large part of the time of each Assembly
was taken up in electing militia officers.

At the session of November, 1821, among the new mem¬
bers were Francis L. Hawks, Robert Strange, Louis D.
Henry, Charles Fisher, D. L. Barringer, John M. Morehead,
all destined to distinction ; and Otway Burns who had made
so great a reputation on the sea.

When Governor Franklin submitted his annual message,
he dwelt on the hard times that were so disastrous to the
people; and he recommended some changes in the punish¬
ment of criminals, especially urging that the punishment of
cropping ears should be abolished, and that reform should
be the object sought to be subserved. The subjects of
public schools and of a constitutional convention were again
before the Assembly, but without favorable action. Also,
a proposition that President Joseph Caldwell, Prof. Mitchell
and Prof. Olmstead should make a geological survey of the
State and that they report observations on the climate and
natural productions as well as the result of their survey,
passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate.

There was some manifestation of dissatisfaction at the
contract with Hamilton Fulton, and a new Board of Internal
Improvements was chosen: Isaac T. Avery, Bartlett Yancey,

WASHINGTON STATUE SET UP

283

John D. Hawkins, Thomas Turner and Durant Hatch,
Jr. It was at this session that Charles Fisher’s proposition
to establish a Literary fund for the use of public schools
was adopted ; and although some years had to elapse before
the hope would be realized, yet a step forward was made.
Charles Fisher again brought up the subject of a consti¬
tutional convention. The debate was continued during
several days, but finally, the resolution was defeated in the
House by 81 to 47, while in the Senate Mr. Williamson’s
proposition to the same end was lost 23 to 36.

The proposition to improve Roanoke Inlet now was in so
much favor that a company was incorporated to undertake
the work.

The statue of Washington

Governor Franklin, on November 24, informed the Legis¬
lature that the statue of Washington had been transported
to Boston on the U. S. Ship Columbus , Commodore Bain-
bridge, “to whose care and attention I am greatly indebted,
particularly for -its transportation from Boston harbor to
Wilmington, where it now is.” He was then concerting
measures for its conveyance to Raleigh. The Assembly
thereupon appointed a committee to attend to its transpor¬
tation to Raleigh and to its being placed in position in the
Capitol building. The statue was carried by water to
Fayetteville. When it reached Fayetteville the State Archi¬
tect, William Nichols, designed and constructed two special
vehicles for its transportation to Raleigh, one for the statue
the other for its base. These vehicles were drawn by many
oxen, and the transportation was slow ; but eventually the
train approached Raleigh on December 24.

The statue was temporarily left on the grounds of the
Governor’s mansion, and then with a great manifestation of
public interest it was conveyed to the State House. A
procession was formed, and as it started, a battery of artil¬
lery fired 24 guns, and the band played patriotic airs. The

Literary

fund

House
Journal, 87

Roanoke

Inlet

The proces¬
sion

284

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

The statue

Holmes,

Governor

The Uni¬
versity lands

Adjutant-General was in charge, and following the band
were troops, citizens, members of the Assembly, heads of the
departments, the Governor ; Revolutionary officers, of whom
Colonel Polk was designated to carry the United States Flag.
Then came the vehicles with the statue and base, under the
immediate care of Mr. Nichols. At the Capitol Colonel
Polk made a brief address and the architect placed the
statue in position in the rotunda designed for it.

While Cariova regarded this work as the most important
that could engage his great powers and while the execution
was in his finest style ; yet he seems to have indulged his
genius and to have idealized his subject rather than adhered
closely to the life mask with which he had been provided.
Posterity knows Washington from the portraits made in
his old age ; Canova presented him as a younger man, his
features not having the expression the world is familiar
with.

It was a majestic figure in which were idealized the
noblest cpialities of mortal man ; and, in its finish, it was one
of the best examples of Canova’s unequaled excellence in his
art of perfect moulding and polishing his marble. That
North Carolina possessed such a treasure gained for the
State the admiration of America. It was the masterpiece
of the sculptor’s art and without an equal among the monu¬
ments of the world.

Governor Franklin having declined a reelection, Joseph
Bryan, James Mebane, H. G. Burton and Gabriel Holmes
were aspirants for the succession. Holmes, of the Cape
Fear section, was taken.

Franklin now retired from public life and about a year
later died at his home in Surry County. His mother was
a sister of the Revolutionary patriot, Col. Benjamin Cleve¬
land, and one of his sons, Meshack Franklin, was later a
Representative in Congress.

North Carolina before the cession of Tennessee had set
aside a certain territorv bevond the mountains for the

UNIVERSITY LANDS

285

location of Revolutionary land grants. Difficulties later
arose concerning these grants. In 1792 Governor Benja¬
min Smith had given to the University 30,000 acres of land
in Tennessee, and Maj. Charles Gerrard of Carteret County
had likewise given it 2,560 acres, and the University was
entitled to other lands by escheat. In 1819 Judge Mur-
phey and Hon. J. H. Bryan were employed to look after
the interest of the University, and they were reasonably
successful.

The management of these western lands was now confided
to a committee composed of the Governor, Col. Wm. Polk,
Henry Potter, John Haywood, Archibald Murphey and
Thomas Ruffin. Col. Thomas Henderson,' editor of the
Raleigh News, was employed as agent, and by October,
1821, he was able to turn over to the University, beyond
his compensation, warrants for 147,853 acres. The lands
were valued at about four dollars an acre. The University,
however, met with further difficulties, but in May, 1823, it
had the prospect of receiving $164,230. Other warrants
were in addition to these. This situation seemed to put the
institution on a very substantial basis and gave a great deal
of satisfaction at that period.

Water transportation

Governor Holmes, in his message, said that for several
years we have had the services of an able engineer, who
has explored our rivers, pointed out the obstructions to
their navigation and given instructions as to how they were
to be removed, a zealous and intelligent board, pushing
the projects by all the means in their power, and still their
progress has been so gradual as to be almost imperceptible.
“The reason is obvious, we have not concentrated our money
in sums sufficiently large to effect the objects to which it
has been applied. . . . Had our limited funds been origi¬
nally directed to a few points of primary and general impor¬
tance, and not dispersed in small sums throughout the State,

Battle: Hist.
Univ., I,

382, 387

286

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

House

Journal,

1822, p. 108

Board of
Agriculture

Imprison
ment for
debt

the result would have been more beneficial to every section.

. . . For instance, if the channel of the Cape Fear between
Wilmington and the bar could have been deepened, so as
to allow the passage of vessels without the aid of lighters it
would have been better. But by dividing our strength so
much in attempting to effect everything at once, we have
effected comparatively nothing.”

The Governor then turned from water transportation and
dwelt on opening and improving the roads. He also urged
that agriculture should be taught at the University that
was now flourishing as never before, and he strenuously
advocated the education of all the youths of the State.
“Let us do something, however little; it may prove in time
a grain of mustard seed.”

The Legislature having sought to inaugurate means of
transportation, now in agreement with Governor Holmes
gave some heed to improvement in agriculture. It estab¬
lished a Board of Agriculture to be composed of the presi¬
dents of the several county agricultural societies, and it
appropriated $5,000 a year for the promotion of agricul¬
ture and domestic manufactures. It provided for premiums
for products, and for the publication and dissemination of
reports and essays on agriculture. Agricultural societies
had already been established in some of the counties, and
now other counties fell into line and efforts were made to
improve the agriculture of the State.

The old English law that a debtor could be imprisoned
for his debts had ever been in force in the State. In 1822,
the Legislature, having regard to the obligations of con¬
tracts, but desirous of putting an end to that severe provision
of law, passed an act that “Any honest debtor may sur¬
render his property and not be subject to imprisonment
for any debt contracted after May 1, 1823,” and this was
followed the next year by an act forbidding the imprison¬
ment of anv woman for anv debt.

GETTING RID OF FULTON

287

The improvement of the rivers had been so unproductive
of beneficial results and the salary and expenses of Fulton
and his assistant, Brazier, had been so large, while the value
of produce had fallen low and the people were in such dis¬
tress that there was now a '‘necessity of offering a placebo to
the public mind, a portion of which is now much irritated
against the system” of river improvement ; and it was there¬
fore proposed by a committee investigating the conditions,
that Fulton’s salary be reduced $500 and that a part of his
time be allowed to other states. Altogether by December,
1822, Fulton had cost the State $19,293 and Brazier $5,067.
Fulton’s salary had been over $5,333 besides expenses.
The House passed a resolution directing the board to re¬
duce Fulton’s salary to $3,300, and if he declined to accept
that, to give him six months notice and let him retire. Also
a bill having been passed to improve the Cape Fear River
below Wilmington, a memorial was prepared asking Con¬
gress to have that work done or to allow the State to levy
tolls on commerce to reimburse the State for the expenses.

Among the leading men in the Senate were Duncan
Cameron, J. J. McKay, Spaight and Seawell, and in the
House were Robert Strange, Charles Fisher, A. H. Shep-
perd and D. L. Barringer. When the election for Senator
came on, Governor Branch was taken.

Fulton’s

salary

Senate
Journal, 94

Branch,

Senator

The Western Convention

The movement for a constitutional convention started by
Murphey’s report in 1816 had been revived at various times
by members from the west. Duncan Cameron, Judge
Mangum, John A. Cameron of Fayetteville and Charles
Fisher were among those who introduced resolutions with¬
out avail. At length, in 1822, a bill was introduced to
create the new county of Davidson out of the northern por¬
tion of Rowan, and it passed, there being no eastern county
created at the time. This being done by the aid of eastern
votes, raised a great clamor against the eastern men who

288

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

Biog. Hist.,
IV, 330

The west
elects dele¬
gates

House

Journal, 128

had so voted. One of these was Senator William Miller,
the former Governor, a man of sterling worth and a de¬
voted patriot. At the next election he offered again for
the Assembly, but his opponent, Gen. M. T. Hawkins,
pressed the point against him, that he had sacrificed the
east, that a convention could be called and controlled by
the west, and “we would lose our Constitution.” Miller
was defeated and the other eastern members who had
followed him in the vote shared the same fate. Indeed,
the east was alarmed, for in the closing days of the session
of 1822 a caucus of western members was held at which
it was determined to hold a convention of those who were in
sympathy with the west. Twenty-four counties sent dele¬
gates who met at Raleigh just before the Assembly convened
in 1823. Gen. Montfort Stokes presided. For a week
the convention sat, and proposed amendments to the Con¬
stitution. The proceedings were orderly and the proposi¬
tion of the West might well have been agreed to. As the
convention adjourned the Assembly met. As soon as it
was organized Robert Martin of Rockingham offered a
resolution in the House reciting the election of delegates to
the convention and their action, and proposing to raise a
special committee to report a bill to submit the proposed
amendments to the popular vote. But the House did not
take favorable action.

The Lutherans and Moravians

The thousands of German Lutherans who had before the
Revolution settled between the Yadkin and the Catawba
were accompanied by their pastors, who in time died, leaving
unsupplied vacancies — but in 1803, after the great religious
revival, the synod was established, and in 1811 another
revival was started and missionaries were sent out. Not¬
withstanding the emigration of many beyond the Ohio, the
Lutherans maintained their organization — measurably con¬
ducting their services in German. And so had the Mora-

EPISCOPALIANS ORGANIZE

289

vians, who had zealously adhered to their faith and had
multiplied their congregations. Both of these streams of set¬
tlers, making separate communities that in the practice of
handicraft were self-sufficient, established centers of educa¬
tion that perpetuated their culture differentiating them
from the usual settlements in isolated sections.

The Episcopalians organize

On the the 5th of June, 1790, two clergymen, Rev. Charles
Pettigrew and Rev. James L. Wilson, and two laymen met
at Tarboro and held the first Protestant Episcopal conven¬
tion and, in accordance with resolutions then adopted, a con¬
vention was held at Tarboro on November 12, following.
At this meeting there seems to have been six or seven clergy¬
men present and seven laymen. Annual meetings were pro¬
vided for, but not held. In November, 1793, three clergy¬
men and three laymen niet and called a convention to be
held the next May, when seven clergymen and nine laymen
attended and a constitution was formally adopted. In 1807
Mr. Pettigrew died, and others having died, in 1815 there
was no Episcopal clergyman in the State — and no conven¬
tion met until 1817, when one was held by three clergy¬
men and six or eight laymen at New Bern under Bishop
Moore of Virginia, who had been invited to take charge of
the diocese. Then others followed. The attendance an¬
nually increased until there were 25 parishes represented.
It is to be remarked that the Lutherans and Episcopalians
for some years sent delegates to each other’s meetings.
In 1823 the convention elected Rev. John Starke Ravens-
croft of Virginia, Bishop, who accepted, and that branch
of the Christian Church which had ceased to exist as an
organization on the breaking out of the Revolution was
again fully organized in the State.

1823

290

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

Acts 1823,
Ch. 14

House

Journal, 118

Jetties below
Wilmington

Canal at
Weldon

The first geological survey

Under the stimulus of the necessity to have surveys made
with the view of an intelligent understanding of conditions
bearing on water transportation, Dr. Mitchell and Prof.
Olmstead as well as Jonathan Price, who had made and
published a map of the State, were employed in that work.
To meet these expenditures and to pay its subscription for
river improvements, the Legislature directed the issue of
$100,000 of State notes and, having started on the road to
progress, it now directed the Board of Agriculture to have
made a geographical and mineralogical survey of the State.

The board was authorized to employ a person of skill and
science to make such a survey. For this $250 a year was
allowed. Denison Olmstead, Professor of Chemistry and
Mineralogy was employed, and made a report, the first
made of any state, and in 1825 he was made Director of the
State Geological Survey. However, he soon resigned and
returned to Yale where he became very distinguished in his
profession. Thereupon the work was continued by Dr.
Mitchell, who likewise made a report on the geology of the
State.

When the Assembly met Governor Holmes, still pressing
the subject of agriculture, urged the establishment of an ex¬
perimental farm at the University.

The contractors to erect jetties below Wilmington for
river improvement were Richard Taylor and Edward Wil¬
liams, but they employed Hinton James to do the work; the
cost was to be $15,000. James was the first student to
enter the University and became an engineer. The Gov¬
ernor was highly pleased with the operations that prom¬
ised very beneficial results. The Roanoke Navigation Com¬
pany had extended the canal from the Great Falls to the
Weldon orchard. From the orchard to the river there was
a portage and the Governor recommended continuing the
canal to the river. There was so much enthusiasm over

AGITATION FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

291

navigation that now a proposition was seriously made for
a canal from the Falls of the Neuse to Swift Creek.

The agitation for public schools, begun with emphasis
by Murphey, had proceeded year by year, but the subject
was considered less pressing than the transportation prob¬
lem ; now new impetus was given to it by the proposition
that Congress should apportion to the old states public lands
in the immense territorial domain of the Union. Besides,
possibly, the Assemblymen were urged on by an object
lesson in their sight at Raleigh, where the Female Benevo¬
lent Society, fostered by Gales, had already established a
school for the poor children. Year by year additional in¬
terest was manifested, and now the scholarly Joseph A.
Hill of New Hanover brought forward a resolution in¬
structing the Committee on Education to report a bill for
public schools, which was passed. The House seemed to
be responsive.

Free negroes had all along been required to do militia
duty as other citizens, but now the attitude of the races be¬
came so changed that the question of prohibiting them from
attending at musters was brought before the Assembly.
However, the subject was not acted on. The Governor
extolled the previous Legislature for its action in abolishing
imprisonment for debt and urged a further amendment
of the ancient law by abolishing “the cropping of ears” as a
punishment, as his predecessor had done ; and he likewise
suggested that “whipping” be abolished and that the pun¬
ishment for theft should not be equal to that for murder ;
and he again urged the establishment of a penitentiary.

Since 1815 the election of Presidential electors had been
by a general ticket ; now it was proposed to elect by dis¬
tricts, but unavailingly. And the western members again
brought up their grievances to a deaf house.

1823

Movement
for schools

292

IMPROVED CONDITIONS

The vestry of the Episcopal Church at Raleigh was
authorized to erect a temporary building on the southwest
corner of Moore Square for worship ; but a motion “to
adjourn over on the anniversary of the birthday of our
Saviour” failed — yeas 7, nays 103, and that at a time when
specie payments were suspended and there was much finan¬
cial distress and much sickness throughout the State.

CHAPTER XIX

Lafayette — Carlton Letters

The Congressional caucus. — The People’s Ticket. — Jackson and
Calhoun. — Election by the House. — Clay elects Adams. — Clay’s
reason. — The era of good will. — The “New School.” — The Cape
Fear improved. — Free negroes go to Hayti. — Congress and State
reject negroes for military service. — Ashe and Hill offer bills
for schools. — The House appoints commissioners to prepare a
plan. — The visit of Lafayette. — The agitation for public schools.
— Sunday schools in Orange. — The schools at Wilmington and
Raleigh. — The educated men. — Charles Hill’s bill. — The Literary
Fund. — The report of the Taylor Commission. — A new Board of
Internal Improvements. — Fulton resigns. — The Legislature acts.
— Emancipation propositions. — The Legislature to meet last
Monday of December. — Judge Badger resigns, succeeded by Ruf¬
fin. — Fauntleroy Taylor Attorney-General. — Governor Burton
urges better transportation facilities to cure emigration. — Ver¬
mont’s resolutions. — The Legislature prohibits free negroes from
settling in the State. — Roanoke iS'teamboat Company. — McRae’s
map. — Other publications. — The Geological Survey. — The gold
fever. — The Carson-Vance duel. — The tariff question. — The Bill
of Abominations. — Popular sentiment against governmental aid.
— The Carlton letters. — Caldwell urges a railroad. — His wonder¬
ful excellence. — The North Carolina Institution for Deaf and
Dumb. — Lotteries. — Governor Iredell. — Murphey employs Ney. —
The Masons.

The election of 1824

It had been the practice for twenty-four years for the
Representatives in Congress to hold a caucus and recom¬
mend candidates for the presidency. But now the friends
of some of the aspirants raised objections to that course.
The aspirants were Adams, Crawford of Georgia, Calhoun,
Clay and Jackson. The first three were in Monroe’s cab¬
inet; Clay had been the Speaker of the House, and Jackson
was a military hero and then in the Senate ; all
but Adams were southerners and strong Republicans.
Crawford was the favorite of most of the southern Rep-

1824

1825

1827

1824

294

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

1824

The People’s
Ticket

The election
goes to the
House

resentatives. He was also the favorite of the Assemblymen.
But Charles Fisher was opposed to Crawford, and so he
introduced in the House of Commons a strong protest and
resolutions against a congressional caucus presenting a can¬
didate for the presidency. This was debated with great
interest; but it failed to be adopted by a vote of 46 to 82.
It was aimed against Crawford, who was strong in the State,
and before the Assembly adjourned his friends met and put
out an electoral ticket for him ; and, later, the friends of the
other candidates put out “A People’s Ticket,” those named
on it engaging by agreement to support in the college that
candidate who stood the best chance of defeating Crawford.

On February 14 the congressional caucus was held at
Washington. Macon and Conner of Catawba did not at¬
tend, although Macon was a supporter of Crawford. In¬
deed, not a fourth of the members attended as it was a
movement for Crawford and the friends of the other can¬
didates gave it no countenance. Soon afterwards Calhoun
agreed to accept the vice-presidency under Jackson, who
had developed great popular strength ; and Crawford suf¬
fered a stroke of paralysis, and later became almost blind,
so that his physical condition apparently incapacitated him.
While the State was divided into fifteen districts, the
election of electors was by the State at large. The People’s
ticket won by a vote of 20,177 over the Crawford ticket,
which polled 15,396, and the electoral vote of 15 was given
to Jackson. The entire popular vote as far as ascertained
was for Adams 108,740, chiefly from the North, Jackson
153,544, Clay 47,136, Crawford only 46,618. In the elec¬
toral college Jackson had 99 votes, Adams 84, Crawford 41
and Clay 37. The election was thus thrown into the House,
each state having a single vote. Clay could not be consid¬
ered in the House, and he gave the vote of Kentucky to
Adams, notwithstanding the legislature of that state had
expressed a preference for Jackson. After a long struggle
Adams was elected.

ERA OF GOOD WILL

295

On retiring from office, March 7, 1829, Clay indicated
that he was afraid that the military hero, Jackson, would
seize the reins of power and become a dictator. “I thought
I beheld in his election an awful foreboding of the fate
which was to befall this infant republic.”

This was the era of good will, so in the Governor’s ad¬
dress he said : “The general expressions of approbation
which all parties are constrained to make of the present ad¬
ministration is an evidence of the wisdom and a proud com¬
ment on the justice and impartiality of our enlightened
chief magistrate. His equanimity and liberal views have
reconciled the two great contending parties, diffusing
throughout the Republic mildness, concord and brother¬
hood.”

Still there were divergences among the public men. The
“new school,” embracing Adams, Clay and their followers,
wrote Mangum, “has taken the principles of the Old Feder¬
alists but press their principles much further; especially
in the latitudinous construction of the Constitution.”

Governor Holmes’s three years had now expired, and
nominations for a successor included Hutchins G. Burton
of Halifax, Montfort Stokes, Alfred Moore, Simmons J.
Baker and Isaac T. Avery. Several ballots were taken and
at length Burton was chosen.

Governor Holmes reported that the principal work of
Mr. Fulton and the Board of Internal Improvements as to
rivers had been confined to the Cape Fear River ; that
“below Wilmington the result was excellent, and that
steamboats now ran 60 miles above Wilmington at the
lowest water, and within a year they are expected to ply
to Fayetteville at the lowest water.” But while expecting
similar improvement in all the rivers he urged the impor¬
tance of good roads. Likewise, he again urged reform
of the criminal laws and the opening of public schools.
He mentioned that the great number of slaves lately eman¬
cipated had led to a considerable emigration to Hayti, and

Clay’s
Speeches, I,
561

The new
school

1824

Burton,

Governor

On the
Cape Fear

296

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

Negroes not
soldiers

Ashe's Bill

House
Journal, 28

Ibid., 138

he suggested that the State should be protected from any
return of these negroes ; but it was considered that the ex¬
isting law was sufficient. The negro question had found its
way also into Congress. Should free negroes be soldiers?
Congress passed an act excluding them from bearing arms
as soldiers, and the Legislature in conformity now directed
that the names of free negroes be stricken from the militia
muster rolls. Such was the beginning of an interesting
question, was a negro a citizen? In North Carolina, at
least, he could vote, when free.

Quickly following the meeting of the Assembly, Sam
Porter Ashe offered a resolution for the establishment of
schools for the education of the poor; requiring the Com¬
mittee on Education to report a plan for a permanent fund
and to report a system for such schools. And in the Senate,
Charles A. Hill of Franklin reported a bill of like tenor
that passed the Senate 38 to 16. The House was, however,
averse to such action ; nevertheless, in the closing days of
the session the House passed a resolution appointing Chief
Justice Taylor, President Caldwell, Judge Duncan Cameron
and Peter Browne commissioners to prepare a plan or sys¬
tem of public instruction of poor children, and report the
same to the next Assembly.

The legislation of previous years had proved effective,
and numerous agricultural societies had been formed in the
counties; and now the Assembly extended the act of 1822
for two years longer.

Nor was the Assembly indifferent to the health of the
people. In 1824 an act was passed to prevent the intro¬
duction into communities of contagious diseases, and in¬
vesting the local authorities with power to take all precau¬
tionary measures.

Visit of Lafayette

Great interest was felt in the proposed visit of Lafayette.
Governor Holmes dispatched Gen. Robert R. Johnson to

VISIT OF LAFAYETTE

wait on Lafayette at Yorktown and formally invite him to
visit the State ; and it was understood that the General
would arrive at Raleigh about December 20. The Assembly
therefore appointed a committee to attend the honored
guest, and an appropriation was made to meet the expenses.
But the movements of the General were so far different
that he did not cross the North Carolina line until Feb¬
ruary 27, 1825. He was met at Northampton Courthouse
by Chief Justice Taylor, Col. William Polk, Gen. William
Williams of Warren, Col. J. G. A. Williamson of Person,
General Daniels and Major Stanly, representatives of the
State for that purpose. He was received with much
warmth there and also at Halifax. On approaching Raleigh
on March 2, he was received by Captain Ruffin’s company
of Blues and the Mecklenburg troop of cavalry. He was
entertained at the Governor’s mansion by Governor Burton.
He was later conducted to the State House where he viewed
the statue of Washington ; and there he was addressed by
Colonel Polk in behalf of the citizens of the town, and the
ovation given him at the State’s capital was as perfect as
could be desired. Accompanied by his son, George Wash¬
ington Lafayette, after two days passed at Raleigh, he took
the route to Fayetteville, escorted by the Mecklenburg cav¬
alry and the delegation appointed by the State for that pur¬
pose. Fayetteville had been so named in his honor : a cir¬
cumstance that appealed to him, and his visit there was
greatly enjoyed. Ten miles from Fayetteville he was met by
the Fayetteville companies, and at Clarendon bridge by the
mayor and commissioners, and a procession was formed of
the troops, and amidst the joyful roar of artillery he was es¬
corted into the town named in his honor many years earlier.
There was a great demonstration in token of the admiration
and affection of the citizens ; and then the General had to
hurry forward to Cheraw where he was to officiate in laying
the cornerstone of the monument to the heroic DeKalb,
who fell there in defense of North Carolina. At that time,

1825

298

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

1825

Sunday

schools

as described by the Rev. Robert C. Belden, the General
w as “somewhat corpulent, above medium stature and broad
shouldered." He evidently retained his vigor well. The
son, George Washington, was a fine specimen of a man,
well proportioned, graceful in carriage and of easy manners.
He had earlier passed some time in this country and was
familiar with our American customs.

Tlie first step for public schools

The agitation for the public schools was continuous, but
the subject was considered less pressing than that of im¬
proving transportation facilities, and it is noteworthy that
the members of the House of Commons representing man¬
hood were not so eager to adopt a system as those of the
Senate representing property. Annually the Governors
urged the establishment of public schools, and bills would
be introduced in each House. Sometimes the Senate would
act favorably on such measures, but the House would re¬
ject the bills. At length at the session, November, 1822,
an impetus was given to the subject by a movement among
some of the original states to have Congress apportion to
them a part of the public domain for an educational fund,
as was the settled policy and practice with regard to the new
states. A strong and urgent memorial to that end was
drawn to be presented to Congress and communicated to
the other states requesting their cooperation. Should that
succeed, the object would be accomplished; but Congress
took no action. In the meantime, the benevolence of com¬
munities began to find expression. In 1817 there was
formed at Wilmington a society, of which Eliza Lord was
the head, to secure to poor children and destitute orphans
a moral and religious as well as a common school education.
A few years earlier Sunday schools had been started in
England at which poor children were taught to read and
write and given religious instruction, and such schools were

SUNDAY SCHOOLS

299

begun in some of the states, and in some of the counties of
this State. In a memorial to the Assembly in 1825, it was
stated : “The Sunday School Society of Orange County has
under its care twenty-two schools, in which are instructed
from 800 to 1,000 children, many of whom, the children of
the poor who would otherwise have been brought up in In Orange
utter ignorance and vice, have been taught to read and write
and trained to habits of moral reflection and conduct.”

The memorialists asked for twenty-five cents for every
Sunday learner in that county and for all the other Sunday
schools in the State. Among the memorialists were Judge
Webb, Judge Norwood, Judge Nash and .others distin¬
guished in public and civil life. While taught on Sunda}',
the lessons were in the three R’s.

At Raleigh there was a school where some fifty children At Raleigh
were taught. These were not merely instructed on Sunday
but regularly five days during the week. The society that
maintained this school purchased materials which poor fe¬
males were employed to spin and weave, the clothes being
sold for the use of the society, and a school was kept for
the instruction of the children. But notwithstanding these
and similar object lessons in other parts of the State, and
notwithstanding the urgent appeals of the press, all propo¬
sitions to raise funds by taxation or otherwise for common
school purposes had been regularly defeated.

The public men

At that period there was no lack of great, strong men in
the State. Some of the Revolutionary patriots still lin¬
gered on the stage and there was a bevy of younger men
of particular merit. Judge Duncan Cameron stood high
among them ; Chief Justice Taylor, Gaston, Iredell, Mur-
phey, Ruffin, the Hendersons, Mangum, Badger, Meares,

Bedford Brown, Strange, the Hills, Hawkins, Wilson, Cald¬
well, Henry, Edmund Jones, Morehead and others were
men cast in a superior mould ; nor should it be assumed that

300

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

Attendance
on academies

Educational

fund

1825

The plan
reported

the absence of public education caused a blight upon the
intelligence of the public men. North Carolina had not
been different from the other states. Her sons were equal
to the best. She stood well abreast of the other states in
the matter of higher education. The census shows that in
1840 she had 8,335 pupils in the academies and colleges.
Allowing a four years course, every year 2,000 young men
entered upon the activities of life and aided in diffusing gen¬
eral intelligence ; and similarly, among the mothers. In¬
deed it was said in 1824, '‘Perhaps we have in our State
more schools for the languages and sciences than the cir¬
cumstances of. the country call for."

When the Senate organized in 1825, Charles A. Hill,
W. M. Sneed, Geo. L. Dawson, Edmund Jones and M. T.
Hawkins were appointed the Committee on Education and
Primary Schools. They soon reported a bill providing for
a fund for the establishment of public schools, vesting the
same in a literary board created by the act. The fund
embraced certain dividends, the unexpended balance of the
agricultural swamp lands, twenty-one hundred dollars in
cash, and some other resources. When the accumulation
should be sufficient the proceeds were to be used for
schools. This bill passed both Houses, but while it was a
beginning of an earnest endeavor for public schools, years
were to pass before the income was sufficient for any prac¬
tical purpose.

At that session a report was made by the commission ap¬
pointed the year before to prepare a plan of public education.
It was a well considered plan, proposing that the justices
of each county should borrow money for the purpose and
lay a tax to meet the interest, but as yet the Assembly was
not ready to lay a tax for the education of the poor. Nor
would they appropriate money to promote literary efforts ;
when aid was desired for the publication of a history of
the State by Judge Murphev, they instead authorized him to
have a lottery. At that period the taxes were low and the

TAXATION AND TRANSPORTATION

301

aversion to taxation was positive. In February, 1827, Mr.
King of Iredell introduced a bill for the encouragement of
Sunday schools as follows : “Whenever a Sunday school is
established the object of which is to instruct poor and indi¬
gent children in the art of reading and writing, the Treasury
was to pay twenty-five cents for each child.” But the bill
failed. On the other hand, a bill was offered to repeal the
act establishing the Literary Fund. However, on this an
adverse report was made by Morehead, chairman. More-
head declared that “states having the means at command
are morally criminal if they neglect to contribute to each
citizen that individual usefulness and helpfulness which
arises from a well-cultured understanding. . . . Your com¬
mittee believe that it is the duty and the interest of North
Carolina to instruct that part of her population who do not
possess the means of acquiring a useful education.”

Taxation

1 he valuation of lands and property was left to two ap¬
praisers appointed each year by the justices of the county,
and a magistrate. The owner gave in a list of his prop¬
erty. The State tax was six dollars on the hundred acres.
The county justices levied such taxes as they thought
necessary.

Transportation

The efforts to improve water transportation had been
disappointing. Nearly half of the. Assembly and a large
proportion of the inhabitants felt aggrieved at the salary
paid to the engineer, Fulton, and at every session there
were propositions to reduce it which such able and far¬
sighted leaders as Judge Cameron were able to defeat,
leaving it to the board to manage the matter. Finallv, in
1824, the attack took a new turn and entirely new members
were elected to compose the board. James Iredell of the

1825

Fulton re¬
tires

302

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

1825

House

Journal,

Albemarle section, Edward B. Dudley and Col. Daniel M.
Forney of Lincoln County were elected and, with the Gov¬
ernor, were now to have control of internal improvements.
This action was based on the complaint that much money
had been unnecessarily expended and the works were im¬
properly conducted. Mr. Fulton thereupon resigned. But
the Assembly had hopes of improving the rivers without
his aid, and it directed that a steam dredge should be bought
and $6,000 was appropriated to clear out the flats below
Wilmington ; and the Cotton Plant Steamboat Company
was incorporated to run boats on the Cape Fear. But
thoughts now turned to the highways and the Board of
Internal Improvements was urged to further the construc¬
tion of turnpikes even by subscribing in some cases one-
half of the necessary stock.

Emancipation

The Governor laid before the Assembly resolutions pro¬
posed by Ohio “for the gradual emancipation of slaves and
the colonization of free people of color” which had been
highly approved by the Legislatures of Indiana, Delaware,
Connecticut and Illinois. In regard to this proposition, the
ioo Governor made but a single remark that he indulged the
hope that the nonslaveholding states will shortly learn and
practice what has familiarly been termed the Eleventh
Commandment : “Let every one attend to his own concerns.”

Similarly a proposition to repeal so much of the act of
1741 as required that negro apprentices should be taught
to read and write was defeated, the Legislature adhering
to its position taken in 1818, when William B. Meares of
Wilmington offered a bill “to prevent all persons from
teaching slaves to read and write, the use of figures- ex¬
cepted,” and it was defeated. The Quakers at their annual
meeting in the fall of 1825, resolved to inaugurate a move¬
ment to remove the colored people held by them that were
willing to leave this country. Their effort had this result :

EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES

303

120 went to Hayti, 316 to Liberia and 100 to Ohio and
Indiana. They were to sail from Beaufort in June, 1826.

The society had earlier sent off 64 to Ohio and 58 to Liberia.

In June, Judge Badger, after four years on the Superior
Court bench, resigned and Thomas Ruffin was appointed Judo.eRuffin
by Governor Burton to fill the vacancy temporarily. The
Assembly at its session elected him. While he had earlier
served two years, this return to the bench marked the be- 1826
ginning of a judicial career of unrivaled luster in the State.

On January 2, 1826, William Drew of Halifax, having
served six years as Attorney-General, was not a candidate Taylor6™7
for reelection. James F. Taylor, Daniel L. Barringer and
G. E. Spruill were in nomination. Mr. Taylor was elected.

He was originally of Chatham, but having moved to Wake,
was in 1823 a member of the House from that county. He
had married Miss Manning who had been a member of the
family of Judge Gaston’s mother and on her death a mem¬
ber of Chief Justice Taylor’s household; so, although there
was no connection between the two Taylors, Judge Gaston
was intimately associated with the two Mesdames Taylor.

As the date for the meeting of the Assembly was not
entirely satisfactory a change was now made. The next
meeting was to be on the last Monday in December, and
thereafter it was to be on the second Monday in January,
but that was not found convenient and was discontinued.

Governor Burton, in his message, made reference to the
disastrous year, the result of a severe drought, saying that a bad year
“the chastening hand of an all wise Providence has come
heavily on particular sections of our State.” He strongly
urged primary public education and then in connection with
internal improvements, said : “We all know that in partic¬
ular sections of the State, the greatest distress is at present
apprehended among the poorer classes of our citizens from
the deficiency of the various crops.” He urged “Facilitate
intercourse between the different sections of the State. . . .

Open your water-courses, repair your old roads and make

304

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

Emigration

Outside

interference

What is a
negro?

Progressive

steps

Dec. 1826

new ones, then the failure of crops in some few counties
would not have the effect of thinning a population already
too much scattered and diminished. . . . What can stay the
tide of emigration now flowing to the west but the im¬
provement of our own State?" Indeed emigration was
directly attributed to the want of facilities to get products
to market, the cost of transportation being more than the
market value.

Vermont had adopted a resolution that “slavery was an
evil and that Vermont would concur in any measure- adopted
by the general government for its abolition that would be
consistent with the rights of the people and the general
harmony.” With regard to this, the Governor “deplored
outside interference, as tending to incite insurrection and
resulting in a reversal of the prevailing policy at the South
of ameliorating the condition of the negroes,” and he sug¬
gested that as other states were now prohibiting free negroes
from settling in them, so should this State in self protection,
do the same. The Assembly in response passed an act
prohibiting free negroes from settling in this State, and it
declared “All free mulattoes descended from negro ancestors
to the fourth generation inclusive, though one ancestor in
each generation may have been a white person, come within
the meaning of this act.”

Public roads were directed to be laid off, among them the
State road in Surry County and in Wilkes County from
Lincolnton to Rutherfordton and from Salisbury to Lin-
colnton. Money was appropriated for the Clubfoot Canal
and for the Cape Fear River, and a charter was granted to
Cadwallader Jones and others for the Roanoke Steamboat
Company to build steamboats to ply on the sounds and
Roanoke River, and the New Bern Marine and Fire Insur¬
ance Company was incorporated.

The Assembly had met on the last Monday in December,
which that year was Christmas Day. The Governor and
State officers had been elected in November for one year and

FIRST GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

305

the year had passed. At the outset, the Governor sub¬
mitted the question to the Legislature as to the validity of
all official acts during December, but the Assembly an¬
swered only by reelecting him to be Governor.

John McRae of Fayetteville prepared in 1826 a map of
the State, five miles to the inch, being 6 feet 9 inches by
3 feet 6 inches. Each county was separately executed by
R. H. B. Brazier, with the assistance of gentlemen of science
in the different parts of the State and revised by the several
county surveyors. On December 18, 1826, McRae announced
in the North Carolina Telegraph, a religious and miscellane¬
ous weekly, published at Fayetteville by Robert H. Morrison,
the editor, that “from the returns already received he believed
that there would be a subscription of not less than 1,000
names — the price to new subscribers was $10. Morrison,
the publisher of the Telegraph, in December, 1826, an¬
nounced as just published at the Telegraph office “Spiritual
Hymns in the Gaelic language by Patrick Grant, the title
in Gaelic being Spioradail Uuadh Dhain Padruing Grand.”
Later, Mr. Morrison became the president of Davidson
College.

The geological survey

Professor Olmstead at first made the geological survey
required by the directions of the Legislature, but on his
resignation Dr. Elisha Mitchell carried on the work ; parts
I and II of the report being by the former and part III by
the latter. In the performance of this duty Dr. Mitchell
made several trips throughout the State. A diary of his
journey over the State in the winter of 1827-28 has been
preserved.

In 1829 Dr. Mitchell made an additional report, and he
then published a textbook “Elements of Geology with an
outline of the Geology of North Carolina” ; and also an essay
on “the character and origin of the low country of North
Carolina.”

1826

State map

Hymns in
Gaelic

1827

Sprunt
Mon., No. 6

3°6

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

1827

This work by Prof. Olmstead and Dr. Mitchell was the
first comprehensive geological survey made by any state,
and while reflecting high credit on the eminent men who
executed the work attests the intelligent and progressive
spirit and wisdom of the public men of that period.

The gold fever

In the early years of the century gold had been found in
Cabarrus County, and the result of the geological surveys
gave some impetus to the search for the precious metal.
Here and there mills for washings had been put in operation
and in 1827 Nathaniel Bosworth, knowing Murphey ’s in¬
terest in the subject, informed him that his plant in Mont¬
gomery County was in satisfactory operation and that he
employed about 80 men. However, Bosworth’s efforts do
not seem to have resulted favorably. Still, elsewhere others
were mining and washing for gold. Two years later Mon¬
sieur Dauverges, a French chemist, wa$ brought from
Philadelphia to examine into the value of the mines, and
Murphey was with him at the Gibson mine, in Guilford
County, which later Murphey and Jonathan Worth worked
for a year; and Murphey proposed to wash for gold on his
Haw River plantation, where it was said there were three
gold mines. At that period the gold fever was abroad in
the central and south central parts of the State. Many
persons flocked to the supposed gold regions, and some of
the planters even carried their negro men there to engage
in the work. The excitement continued a year or two ; but
the results were very disappointing. However, interest in
the natural resources of the State was aroused.

The Carson-Vance duel

On November 6, 1827, at Saluda, across the South Caro¬
lina line, occurred a fatal duel that stirred the west as
much as the Stanly duel had stirred the east. Dr. Robert
Brank Vance had served a term in Congress and on seeking

Archibald D. Murphey
Edward B. Dudley

Elisha Mitchell
William Gaston

CARSON-VANCE DUEL

30 7

a reelection was opposed by a young man, who, however,
had served two sessions in the Legislature, Samuel P.
Carson. Vance was much the elder, but the young man was
successful. At the next election, 1827, Vance opposed
Carson and on the stump mentioned that Carson’s grand¬
father had been untrue during the Revolutionary war, in
fact a Tory. Carson made denial and challenged Vance.
At the meeting Vance fell. Carson, who had been successful
at the polls, continued in Congress until 1833. The Vance
connection was very prominent and the fatal duel left much
heartburning for many years.

The tariff

At first, revenue had been the object of the earlier tariff
laws ; and whatever protection was afforded to manufac¬
turers was merely incidental. But by 1824 the demands
of eastern manufacturers for protection and of western
communities for internal improvements led to the adoption
of the American system fathered by Henry Clay, a western
man ; and the protective measure of that year was adopted
by a majority of five in the House and of four in the
Senate, Daniel Webster, at that time a freetrader, being
against it.

The interests of Massachusetts had been more with com¬
merce than with manufactures, and besides she had seen
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois attract her population. During
the decade ending 1830 the population of those three states
increased 660, 000, while that of Massachusetts increased
but 87,000. Unable to stem the tide of emigration, and
her manufactures becoming more important, she changed
her economic attitude and embraced protection.

In July, 1827, a convention was held in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, which favored protecting every industry.
Webster and Massachusetts now cooperated with Clay, and
in May, 1828, a new tariff law was passed, known as the
Bill of Abominations because of its provisions that were

1827

The first
tariff con¬
vention

308

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

1827

Opposition
to the “New
School”

declared by its opponents to be monstrous. It was that
bill that aroused the Republicans at the South in the ensuing
presidential campaign against the Adams administration.
In some of the agricultural states it occasioned talk of dis¬
solving the Union, and in South Carolina, where Calhoun
was all-powerful, the opposition was very violent. But
Clay adhered to his system. When Jackson was defeated in
1824, by Clay’s action in the House, he had charged that
Clay had made a corrupt bargain with Adams ; and Clay
was now at points with General Jackson, and the adherents
of Adams and Clay, while still asserting that they were
Republicans, called themselves “National Republicans.”

At the election, August, 1827, the feeling in the State was
with Jackson and against Adams and Clay. The “New
School" with its adherence to the high tariff and internal
improvements was hotly met at the meetings. Nor was
there kept in mind the distinction between the State's pro¬
motion of its own internal improvements and such action
bv the United States; there arose objections to both. Among
the contestants for Congress was Archibald D. Murphey,
who sought to succceed Barringer. A supporter, writing
to him from Wake just before the election, remarked: “If
it was not for one circumstance, that of internal improve¬
ments in the State, you would beat him (Barringer) three
to one in my neighborhood, but it is hard to make a great
many of the people understand the difference between im¬
provements by the State and that by the United States.”
Senator Macon was ever opposed to any improvements by
the State.

Such was the general tone in the State when in Sep¬
tember, 1827, J. F. Caldwell, President of the University,
began the publication of a series of letters, addressed to the
people, on the subject then entirely new and novel — the con¬
struction of a railway by the State from New Bern to the
mountains. At that time there had been quite a number
of railways constructed in England to haul coal from the

DR. CALDWELL'S LETTERS

309

mines to some shipping point, but none as much as ten
miles in length, and all operated by horses ; and there were
a few on the continent for similar purposes. In this coun¬
try, a road three miles long had been begun in 1827 at
Quincy, Massachusetts, to haul granite ; and in Pennsylvania
a road five miles long to haul coal was also begun in 1827.
In South Carolina there was a road from Charleston into
the interior also in use ; but all without locomotives. Other
than these, there were no such aids to transportation in the
United States when Dr. Caldwell began his series of let¬
ters, which reached eleven numbers before the meeting of
the Assembly. For intelligent apprehension of the prob¬
lems involved ; for clearness of views and a thorough un¬
derstanding of a subject at once novel, difficult and im¬
portant, these letters published as ‘‘The Carlton Letters’’ are
a marvel of excellence. They deserve to stand on as high a
plane of literary accomplishment as the celebrated reports
of Hamilton or Jefferson or any of the famous men of that
generation. Indeed, it is to be said that they constitute a
wonderful achievement, reflecting high credit on the State,
perhaps unrivaled in any other American commonwealth.

Twelve years had elapsed since Murphey and his coad¬
jutors had started the scheme of improving water transporta¬
tion and constructing highways through the western parts
of the State. The navigation of the Dan and Roanoke had
been brought to a high state of usefulness and that of the
Cape Fear to most gratifying efficiency. The Catawba and
Yadkin had been opened, and nearly every stream in the
east had been improved ; while the Clubfoot and Harlowe
Canal connected the waters of the great sounds with the
ocean at Beaufort harbor. Much benefit had accrued, but
still, save at Fayetteville, no great market within the State
had resulted. The natural tendency of our farm products
to seek markets in Virginia and in South Carolina con¬
tinued, and the profits of our important trade went into
the pockets of the merchants of the neighboring states.

Carlton

Letters

3io

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

1827

The railroad

House

Journal, 140

North Carolina was not reasonably benefited by the industry
of her people. Much had been done for water transporta¬
tion, but still the obstacles to industrial prosperity generally
remained. Dr. Caldwell conceived the design or rescuing
the interior of the State from its condition ; of providing
transportation for the products of the west to some North
Carolina port, where vessels would bear them to the Medi¬
terranean Sea, to Europe, to the islands at the south as
well as to the markets of the northern states.

While our people knew of the benefits of the canals in
England, in New York and elsewhere, they had heard but
little of a railway. Nowhere else in the world had such
a railway as Caldwell now proposed ever been designed. It
was to start at New Bern, come to Raleigh, and then go
westward, about fifty miles distant from each of the north¬
ern and southern boundaries of the State. Nearly every
farm was to be within a day’s journey of the road. Along
the line of the road the produce would be laden on the
railway carriages and carried to New Bern where, trans¬
ferred to barges, it would be conveyed by the canal to Beau¬
fort and shipped abroad. Already a steam locomotive had
been devised in England ; but there were none in America.
Horses were to draw the carriages. Dr. Caldwell figured
that it would cost thirty-seven cents to the poll for seven
years and the work would be completed. Every detail he
considered fully in his remarkable series of letters. He
hoped that the Legislature would authorize a beginning,
but when the Legislature met Charles Fisher, while agreeing
to the general argument of Dr. Caldwell, made a different
proposition. The Yadkin was open to the Narrows. For
a hundred miles the produce of the Yadkin Valley was for
easy transport on the bosom of that placid stream ; and
the project of Murphey for a canal having fallen through,
Fisher proposed a railway from the Narrows to Fayette*

PROGRESSIVE MEASURES

3ii

ville. Then Nathan G. Smith of Chatham, following the
suggestion of Dr. Caldwell, proposed a road from Beaufort
to Salisbury. Both propositions were referred to a com¬
mittee, and nothing followed.

Quite a number of persons in this State having associated Ibid 154
themselves together for the instruction of the deaf and dumb
and to establish an asylum for the reception and instruction
of these unfortunate persons, they were incorporated under

Progress^

the name of the North Carolina Institution for the Instruc- measures
tion of the Deaf and Dumb.

The former Legislature having directed a commission to
reports plans for a penitentiary and for an asylum for idiots 1827
and lunatics, the Governor now communicated such plans,
but the time was not yet ripe for action, and the plans were
ordered to be deposited in the library for future use.

There were transportation companies chartered for Hay¬
wood County, another to run from Buncombe to Burke, and
another known by the name of the Smoky Mountain Trans¬
portation Company, the State being a stockholder.

In Elizabeth City there was enough business for the for¬
mation of a marine insurance company. In several coun¬
ties there were library companies authorized, and the State
Library was directed to let Hardy B. Croom have the use
of Lawson’s History for twelve months to republish the
same with notes.

The Assembly, desirous of promoting laudable objects
without taxing the people, resorted to lotteries that were
then much utilized, even for religious purposes as well as
for other objects.

Judge Murphey had been engaged in preparing a history
of the State and it was commonly understood that the pub¬
lication of a history was casting bread on the waters with no
hope of any return. To be helpful to this distinguished
public man in his great endeavor, the Assembly passed an

312

LAFAYETTE— CARLTON LETTERS

Lotteries

Jefferson,
Vol. IX

1828

Iredell,

Governor

act authorizing the Treasurer to have a lottery to raise
$50,000, one-half of the proceeds to be for the Literary
Fund, and the other half for the use of Murphey in pub¬
lishing his history. The lottery was to be sold to brokers
or others who might purchase the right to hold it. For
some reason there were no purchasers, so the scheme fell
through.

There was also an act giving authority to the Board of
Internal Improvements to have a lottery to raise $50,000 to
survey and drain swamps and to improve the health of
certain counties in the eastern part of the State ; and Sena¬
tor Flenry Seawell from Wake, offered a resolution instruct¬
ing the Committee on Education to inquire into the expe¬
diency of raising $630,000 by lottery, ten thousand dollars
to be given to each county for establishing public schools.
Lotteries, argued Jefferson, when applying to the Virginia
Legislature for one to be authorized for the aid of his pro¬
posed university, are not more subject to chance than the
pursuit of agriculture. The propriety of their use was a
common sentiment.

This being Burton's last year, James Iredell was elected
Governor.

It was at this time that Murphey engaged the services of
a man who had taught school in the western counties, known
as P. S. Ney, and who proved efficient and helpful to
Murphey.*

Murphey’s health now became bad. Some of his specu¬
lations in land turned out disastrously. At the August
election, 1827, he offered for Congress against Barringer,
both being supporters of General Jackson, but he was de¬
feated. His proposed history was never completed.

*The real name of this man Ney waa Neyman. He was a Scotchman.

EARLY MASONS OF THE STATE

3i3

The Masons had for years been active in North Carolina, The Masons
and among them were many of the most honored patriots
of the State. Sam Johnston, Richard Caswell, Davie, Col.

William Polk, Chief Justice Taylor, Judge Hall, Governor
Benjamin Smith and Robert Williams were the Grand Mas¬
ters up to 1813, and equally distinguished were their suc¬
cessors ; while the roll of members contained the names of
the most choice spirits of the commonwealth. Therefore
when an anti-Mason party arose at the North it made no
impression in North Carolina.

CHAPTER XX

An Era of Progress

The presidential election. — Jackson successful. — His citizen¬
ship and manners. — Character. — His inauguration. — Iredell’s
message. — New conditions. — Cotton and woolen factories; other
enterprises. — Iredell and Branch Senators. — Owen, Governor. —
Congress agrees to improve the Cape Pear. — Fauntleroy Taylor
dies. — Death of Chief Justice Taylor. — The banks in trouble. —
Branch Bank of United iSitates. — Robert Potter. — Gaston. — Pot¬
ter’s popularity. — His crime and death. — Fisher’s diatribe. —
Ruffin restores confidence. — Macon. — His influence. — Death of
Yancey. — Federal patronage.— GDeath of Murphey. — Governor
Owen’s progressive message. — The Internal Improvement Con¬
vention. — The Assembly responds. — Sheriffs and clerks to be
elected by the people. — Bedford Brown Senator. — Henderson
Chief Justice. — Macon County. — Ruffin on Supreme. Court. — The
Donaldson industrial school. — The tariff. — The State’s non-action.

1828

Attitude
of Gales

The presidential election

When the presidential election of 1828 was approaching
the friends of Adams and of Clay, the adherents of the
American system, those who supported the high tariff
measures and the internal improvements policy of the ad¬
ministration, stood for the reelection of Adams. But Jack-
son, declaring that the popular will had been defeated by a
corrupt bargain between Clay and Adams in 1824, was very
active in rallying the opposition. Great popular interest
was aroused throughout all the states. In North Carolina
nearly all the public men were for “Old Hickory,” and
against the “New School’’ as those were called who ad¬
vocated a latitudinous construction of the Constitution.
Colonel Polk, Badger, Mangum and nearly all the old Re¬
publicans were for Jackson, but Gales, so long the leading
Republican editor, was not. In 1820 when the Legislature
had pronounced against the tariff, Gales had registered a
strong dissent. And his action was in conformity with his
principles. He had stood for home manufactures, ’and in
1808 he had established a paper mill on the Neuse: and had

GENERAL JACKSON

3I5

ever urged domestic manufactures. At the previous elec¬
tion he supported Crawford, the caucus nominee, who, in¬
deed, had a large following in the State ; but he was no
longer in line with the Jefferson Democracy.

By November all doubts of the result of the election were
allayed. Jackson was successful by more than two to one in
the electoral college. While New England gave all her
votes but one to Adams, the West offset that; and the South
voted solidly for Jackson, as did Pennsylvania; only New
York and Maryland divided. It was the death knell of the
political supremacy of Massachusetts. Virginia and the
South and West wielded the power of the Union.

Some question has arisen as to Jackson’s nativity. It is
not important whether his mother happened to be on the
north or south side of the line dividing the Carolinas when
he was born. The Waxhaw settlement embraced the neigh¬
borhood and extended into both states. His parents came
from Ireland in 1765 and settled in Waxhaw. Two years
later he was born in North Carolina. All through youth
he was in North Carolina, a North Carolina boy. It is said
he taught school, and studied law in North Carolina, was
a resident and voter of the State, admitted to the bar by
Judge Ashe, as a citizen; held office as a citizen; never
breathing any other atmosphere, until Tennessee, North
Carolina’s daughter, became a state.

After he became President, his political opponents as¬
sumed towards him an air of superiority. He had not had
their training. He was a resolute, determined man : but in
manner, in personal bearing, he was so deferential, so gentle,
so courteous, that Mrs. Seaton wrote: ‘‘General Jackson ap¬
pears to possess quite as much suaviter in modo as fortiter
in re. He is indeed a polished perfect courtier in female
society, and polite to all.” And Senator Iredell wrote to
Ruffin : “I have seen General Jackson and am much pleased
with his manner and address. They are decidedly those of
a well-bred gentleman, and I do not know that I could give
him a higher character.” While a man of decision, he held
lofty views and had correct principles ; and he was free
from insincerity and duplicity : nor was he lacking in edu-

Jackson

Biog.

Seaton, 161

Ruffin
Letters, I,
433

3l6

AN ERA OF PROGRESS

1828

Seaton,

Bio?.

cation. He had been educated in youth, a judge of the
Supreme Court of Tennessee, had served in the Senate,
and had been Governor of the Territory of Florida.

The campaign had been waged on such issues that Jackson
was stigmatized as an enemy to society. And indeed at
his inauguration all social traditions were trampled under
foot. “It was the people’s day, the people’s President, and
the people would rule. . . . When the President’s ad¬

dress was concluded, the barricades gave way before the
multitude, who forced a passage to shake hands with the
choice of the people. General Jackson mounted his horse,
having walked to the Capitol, and then such a cortege fol¬
lowed : countrymen, laborers, white and black, carriages,
wagons, and carts all pursuing him to the President’s house.

. The closing scene (within the White House) was
195 in disgusting contrast with the simplicity of the impressive
drama of the inaugural oath.” And so it came about that
“party spirit is now fiery hot and will increase every day.”
Of Jackson's particular admirers it was said: “In our
opinion General Jackson is infinitely superior in magnanimity
and other good qualities to his friends. They are outrageous
and would willingly trample under foot and massacre all
who do not bow the knee to Baal.” Such was the begin¬
ning of a new era in political affairs at Washington.

In the State

In his message to the Assembly Governor Iredell men¬
tioned the exuberant harvest, the great improvement in con¬
ditions, and “but few offenders of an atrocious nature.”
He dwelt on the tariff act recently passed, and urged the
Legislature to protest against it, and against “the American
system.”

He urged as all his predecessors had done both education
and internal improvements; and “on the subject of railroads,
which have excited much interest in this State,” he said
that an experiment had lately been commenced to connect
the waters of the Ohio with the city of Baltimore, and he
suggested the construction of a railway from Campbellton to
Fayetteville, as a trial and test.

MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENTS

The conditions in the State were now better than the
year before. A greater spirit of enterprise prevailed.
There were applications for business incorporations that be¬
spoke an inclination to associate capital and enter on
manufacturing.

The Leakes and Crawfords of Richmond were granted
a charter under the name of Richmond Rockingham Man¬
ufacturing Company, with a capital of $30,000, to manu¬
facture cotton and woolen goods.

Hugh McCain, Jesse Walker, Benjamin Eliot and Jona¬
than Worth formed the Randolph Manufacturing Com¬
pany for cotton and woolen goods, with a capital of $50,000.

William A. Blount, John Myers, William Ellison, with
$20,000, formed the Belfort Cotton Manufacturing Com¬
pany to operate on Tranter’s Creek.

Joel Battle, Edmond McNair, David Clark, David Barnes,
B. M. Jackson, Theophilus Parker, Peter Evans, William
Plummer were incorporated as the Edgecombe Manufac¬
turing Company with a capital of $200,000 to manufacture
cotton, flax and hemp ; and Henry A. Donaldson, Louis
D. Henry, John Riley, Hugh McLaughlin, John M. Dobbin,
formed the Fayetteville Manufacturing Company, $50,000
capital, to manufacture cotton, hemp, wool and flax. Peter
P. Smith, Anderson K. Ramsey of Chatham, Alexander
Gray and Hugh Moffat of Randolph, Daniel McNeil,
Guidon Seawell of Moore, James Mebane, John Stockard
of Orange, put in $15,000 to form the Iron and Casting-
Manufacturing Company in Chatham County. And gold
mining was attractive. The North Carolina Gold Mining
Company was organized “to work gold mines more exten¬
sively than heretofore and with better machinery/’ Both
the Cotton Plant Steamboat Company and the Henrietta
Steamboat Company were organized at Fayetteville ; each
with the authority to build additional boats, and a com¬
pany was formed with $100,000 capital to clear the channel
of Ocracoke Inlet, and improve the navigation of Pamlico
Sound.

Macon having resigned, two senators were now to be
chosen. Governor Iredell and Governor Branch were

Progress

Cotton mills

Navigation

Iredell and

Branch

Senators

3i8

AN ERA OF PROGRESS

1828

Death of the

Chief

Justice

elected. John Owen now became Governor. Not so learned
a man as Iredell, Owen was of fine qualities and worthy of
this post of honor.

The Legislature had called on Congress to remove the
obstructions in the Cape Fear, the result of sinking vessels
there during the Revolution to keep out British vessels, and
Congress proposing to do that, the State Civil Engineer was
now dispensed with ; but the work was kept up by Hinton
James as superintendent. William Robards, the State Treas¬
urer, who succeeded the venerable John Haywood on his
death, reported that the State assets were $1,047,485, and
liabilities $325,326. The Legislature directed that $5,000
be advanced to McRae for the publication of his map.

The Attorney-General, James Fauntleroy Taylor died in
June, 1828, the Legislature electing Romulus M. Saunders
to the vacancy; and on January 29, 1829, Chief Justice Tay¬
lor died. For thirty years he had been on the bench and
ranked first among his associates. On his death the court
made a memoranda from which the following are extracts.
“In the character of this distinguished man there was such
a rare union of qualities as renders the task of portraying
it one of peculiar difficulty. The lineaments of his mind
were delicate and so harmoniously blended as to present to
the intellectual eye an object on which it dwelt with serene
and affectionate pleasure, conscious of excellence, yet scarcely
sensible in what it consists. . . . His gentle, unob¬

trusive manners, a singular felicity of expression, which al¬
ways seized and apparently without effort the most appro¬
priate word for the communication of a thought, a playful
but ever benevolent wit, united with quick perception, great
ingenuity in argument and a most retentive recollection of
whatever he had read, opened for him a career of eminence.
His patience was exemplary, and his courtesy universal.
LTniting in an extraordinary degree suavity of manner with
firmness of purpose, a heart tremblingly alive to every im¬
pulse of humanity, with a deep-seated and reverential love
of justice, the best feelings with an enlightened judgment,
etc.

FINANCIAL DEPRESSION

3i9

Of his decisions they said: “Very many, which may be
regarded as models of legal investigation and judicial elo¬
quence, etc. . . . There is indeed a charm in all his

compositions seldom to be found elsewhere, which has in¬
duced not a few to regret that the Chief Justice had not
devoted himself entirely to a literary life. . . . If there

was ever a kinder heart in human bosom, it has not fallen
to our lot to meet with it. If ever man was more faithful
to friendship, more affectionate in his domestic relations,
more free from guile, more disinterested, humane and chari¬
table, we have not been so fortunate as to know him.”

The banks in trouble

The conservative and splendid management of the banks
in their early years had borne its natural fruit. Their
value to the State was appreciated. Then in the time of
depression that set in, they became the fortunate instrument
to alleviate the situation. Everybody became borrowers ;
money was so easy to get on promises to repay. The char¬
ters of the banks were extended to 1835, and their capital
was greatly increased, and as they could issue three dollars in
currency for every dollar of capital, currency became super¬
abundant. Specie becoming scarce, the Legislature came to
the aid of the situation by issuing State notes, receivable as
specie. While this expedient was a temporary relief,- in the
end it augmented the evil. Unfortunately, similar condi¬
tions existed elsewhere at the South and West, and there be¬
ing great demand for specie, brokers plied their trade re¬
lentlessly, purchasing the notes of the banks at a discount
and presenting them for payment in specie. There was but
one road that led to safety, to call in loans ; and that would
occasion widespread distress. The banks hesitated to resort
to that measure and suspended specie payment. The brokers
being denied their specie brought suit, and to meet this
threatened embarrassment, the banks required customers to
agree to pay their indebtedness in specie ; although the
bank notes were below par. Unusual efforts were now
made by the Legislature to give relief to the banks, but the
Branch Bank of the United States having received a large

3 20

AN ERA OF PROGRESS

1829

Robert

Potter

Wheeler,

164

Ruffin
Letters, I,
458

Gaston

amount of bank notes demanded specie in payment, and
the banks were in a condition that required the most dras¬
tic action. At that time there entered on the stage of public
life a man of unusual abilities and qualities, Robert Potter
of Granville County. “With an address which would have
graced the most polished court in Europe, with powers of
eloquence that could command the listening auditors and
sway them to his will, and an energy that shrank from no
obstacle or opposition, he sought popularity by magnifying
the evils of the day and appealing to the people for reform.”
He had been a midshipman, but after six years service had
resigned and studied law, and in 1828, was elected a Repre¬
sentative from Granville County. On the meeting of the
Assembly he proposed to reduce severely the pay of the
judges. “Potter seems to have gone completely beside him¬
self upon that and the other great subjects which have been
agitating the people of the State for the last summer ; I
mean the all-absorbing subjects of the depreciation of the
currency of North Carolina, and the bad not to say mis¬
management of the directors of our banks.” Potter had
introduced a resolution, which was adopted, to raise a joint
committee to examine into the affairs of the banks. The
majority of this committee made a report different from
Potter’s views. And he submitted a minority report ac¬
companied by a bill requiring the Attorney-General to in¬
stitute proceedings against the banks, declaring a forfeiture
of their charters. These reports led to high debate. Gas¬
ton was at that time in the plenitude of his powers.
Badger, writing to Ruffin, said : “I have been employed
for some days past in the Circuit Court of the GTnited States
where Brother Gaston is all in all, and although I have
heard much and seen a little of leaning, yet never saw I,
or heard I, of such complete supporting upon a lawyer as
of the Chief Justice (Marshall) upon Gaston. The Chief
Justice seems to be but his echo, though he is not aware of
it, for his integrity is certainly pure.” Gaston opposed
Potter. “With Gaston were George E. Spruill of Halifax,
David L. Swain, George C. Mendenhall of Guilford, and
James Graham of Rutherford. . . . The House was a

POTTER AND FISHER

321

tie and the proposition of Potter was defeated only by the
casting vote of the Speaker, Thomas Settle/’

Potter by his attack on the banks gained such popular ap¬
plause that he was at the next election chosen as a Jackson
Democrat to Congress from the Granville district. His
course in Congress was brilliant and imposing. He was re¬
elected without opposition. On Sunday, August 28, 1831,
he committed a brutal maim on two of his wife’s relations,
one of them a preacher. He was fined $1,000 and im¬
prisoned six months. The next General Assembly passed
an act making his crime a capital offense. Two years later,
however, he was again elected to the House of Commons;
but realizing that his career had closed he went to Texas in
1835. There he was a member of the convention that de¬
clared the independence of Texas, March, 1836, and mem¬
ber of the Texas Senate. Having some trouble with some
men who on April 2, 1842, drove him from his house near
Caddo, he took refuge in a stream, from the banks of which
they fired on him, he diving as they shot; but eventually
they, killed him.

While Potter’s attack on the banks failed, it had many and
strong supporters. Such was the feeling that Charles Fisher,
a Senator, had published in the Yadkin and Catawba
Journal, February, 10, 1829: “By acts the most designing,
the Legislature and the people of the State for the past ten
years have been held under the spellbound influence of the
banks, and particularly that bank misnamed the Bank of the
State. So great has been this influence that when, a few
years since, the Governor of the State had the firmness to
call their conduct in question, the directors at Raleigh boldly
stepped out and hurled the gauntlet of defiance at the Gov¬
ernor and the Legislature ; and all the newspapers in the
State sung out — ‘Long Live the King.’ ” He declared that
one-third of the stockholders, 150 men, owning more than
$1,000,000 of stock managed the institution. “These com¬
pose the real aristocracy of the land, and of all aristocra¬
cies the most dangerous is a moneyed aristocracy. . . .

Mammon is their God — self-interest their polar star. These
are the men who are now at work to ruin the State, and
21

Potter’s

career

Fisher
denounces
the money
power

322

AN ERA OF PROGRESS

Ruffin averts
trouble

Ruffin
Papers, I,
496

the contest is with them. . . . Times have changed and they
can no longer divide eight per cent with occasional bonus of
ten to thirty-five per cent ; and they have come to the conclu¬
sion to call in their debts without any regard to the condi¬
tion of the community, but only looking to their own sordid
interests. ‘Let us wind up at once,’ they say ; ‘let us call in
our debts and get the money into our own hands ; we can
make more than five per cent of it by shaving notes and
by buying up property at sheriff sales.’ But,” says a whis¬
pering spirit : “The people, you will ruin the people.’
Mammon answers: ‘What are the people to us? We must
look to our own interest.’ It is better that the people should
suffer, it is better that the poor man, with his wife and help¬
less children should be turned out of doors ; it is better that
we should swell the tide of emigration to the west, than that
we should get only five per cent for our money.” On that line
the thoughts of those who were agitating against the banks
found food to grow.

At that period Judge Thomas Ruffin was the most highly
esteemed citizen and the most popular man in the State ;
every one had confidence in his high integrity as in his
superior ability. The condition of the State Bank was so
critical that in November, 1828, some of the leading men
urged him to become president of that institution. On
December 1, he accepted; and his acceptance raised a storm
of fury against him by those who were so bitter against
the bank. He moved to Raleigh and set himself at once
to work to restore confidence in the State Bank, and, with¬
out favor, forced the borrowers to settle. He accomplished
his purpose and saved the State from what might have been
a financial disaster. When two months later the Chief Jus¬
tice died, thoughts of Ruffin’s friends turned to him to fill
the vacancy.

Andrew Joyner of Halifax, one of the first men in the
State, wrote in April, 1829, to Ruffin that the gentlemen of
the bar in that region preferred Ruffin: “If Mr. Gaston
were a candidate, I find there would be considerable differ¬
ence of opinion among them as to which of you should be
selected to fill the appointment, but it is now generally un-

MACON’S RETIREMENT

323

derstood that he positively declines/’ This is of particular
interest as Gaston was a Roman Catholic, and it was gen¬
erally considered that Catholics were barred by the Con¬
stitution from holding civil offices while that provision did
not extend to members of the Assembly.

On November 14, 1828, Senator Macon, having reached
the age when he thought his mental powers were on the
decline, resigned and retired from public life, being suc¬
ceeded by Iredell. He, however, preserved his activity and
continued to be a great hunter of deer and foxes. He
had served in Congress from 1791, was the honored
Speaker of the House, and after 1815, was esteemed as one
of the wisest Senators, and presided over the Senate as
President pro tempore for several years until he retired.
Like Jefferson, he thought the best interests of the people
of the states lay in a strict construction of the Constitution,
limiting the powers of Congress to the specific grants in that
instrument. Particularly was he fearful that Congress
would attempt to abolish slavery in the states. So it came
about that he was opposed to many of the measures that
now engaged the attention of the younger public men. To
preserve his right of action, he never would enter into
cooperation ; and so during the period when presidential
nominations were made by the Congressional caucus he ab¬
stained from attending such a caucus, even when in sympa¬
thy with a majority of the members. For many years he ex¬
erted the first influence in the State. Here he was the
apostle of individualism. His basic principle was that the
function of government should generally be limited to the
preservation of order and protecting and maintaining the
rights of the citizens ; that other matters should be left to
the care and enterprise of the people themselves. Thus he
was not an advocate of public schools or of the State’s
using taxes to promote enterprises that offered advantages
to some particular section. These matters he thought should
be left to those concerned.

It was under the influence of these teachings that opposi¬
tion arose to such efforts as were made to provide public
schools and promote internal improvements.

1828

Macon

retires

324

AN ERA OF PROGRESS

Macon’s

influence

Now that a new era was approaching-, when railroads were
to engage attention, the indisposition to lay taxes for pur¬
poses that were more strictly objects of individual concern
stayed the hand of the General Assembly, and while charter
after charter was granted the State gave its permission and
good wishes, but no aid. One of the first propositions was
to construct a road from Campbellton, where the steamboats
discharged their freight, about a mile, to Fayetteville where
the stores were located. The proposition had been pre¬
viously considered, and a bill introduced and passed, but the
work was not undertaken. Other charters had been granted
to carry into effect the suggestion of Dr. Caldwell to have
a railway from the coast through the central counties of
the State; and a still more favorite project was to connect
Fayetteville by rail with the Yadkin River at the Narrows
so that the products of the Yadkin Valley, up to the moun¬
tains, could reach markets from Wilmington. But as ses¬
sion after session passed the Legislature deemed it inex¬
pedient for the State to give aid. And so it was in regard
to establishing public schools. Year by year propositions
were made to that end, but despite the advocacy of many
progressive spirits, especially in the Senate, they were with¬
out avail.

Next to Macon, perhaps the most influential person in the
State had been Bartlett Yancey in whom was united every
element of fine manhood; and now, too, he was missed from
public life. For ten years he had been Speaker of the Sen¬
ate and exercised a controlling influence in that bodv and
many of the most important measures adopted were at his
instance ; particularly he drew the bill to establish the
literary fund for schools. But he was conservative in ap¬
plying the resources of the State to promote conditions.
FTe died suddenly and entirely lamented, after his reelection
to the Senate in 1828.

Political rewards in the State were few and not remuner¬
ative. The salaries of the Governor and of the judges were
inadequate and, indeed, so was the compensation of the Rep¬
resentatives and Senators in Congress. Thus it came about
that the Federal patronage was unduly considered in con-

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS

325

nection with political alignment, and the expectation or hope
of some Federal office was often uppermost in the mind of
some of the public men.

The post of Minister to Peru had been tendered to Yan¬
cey but he declined it. He preferred his proud position
of director of legislation to any other, while his practice
brought him in a considerable income.

Indeed Murphey was among those who hoped for an ap¬
pointment abroad ; but his hopes were not realized.

While serving the University in Tennessee, he contracted
a malady that impaired his health and usefulness. Turning
from active leadership he proposed to write a history of the
State, but here again he was doomed to disappointment,
and the most progressive citizen of that era passed away
February 1, 1832, without realizing his ardent hopes.

When the Assembly met, W. J. Alexander was chosen
Speaker of the House and Bedford Brown of the Senate ;
then later, D. F. Caldwell of Rowan.

Governor Owen’s message

The Governor strongly urged better transportation fa¬
cilities and particularly the opening of a communication be¬
tween Albemarle Sound and the ocean which, indeed, the
U. S. Engineers had themselves recommended ; and he was
happy to report that the representations of the Assembly to
Congress about the obstructions in the Cape Fear River had
led to an appropriation of $20,000 to remove them, and that
Congress had likewise appropriated $41,000 for the improve¬
ment of Ocracoke Inlet. The proposed Fayetteville and
Yadkin Railroad seemed so important that he suggested
a commission to ascertain the cost and the practicability of
its construction, and he repeated his recommendation for the
construction of the road from Campbellton to Fayetteville.

While the messages of all of the Governors were generally
explicit in their recommendations for the establishment of
primary schools, none of them excelled in point and scope
the first message of Governor Owen. He laid before the
Assembly what was being done in New York, New Jersey

Death of
Murphey

Improve¬

ments

Owen on

public

schools

326

AN ERA OF PROGRESS

and the New England states and he urged that it was a false
system of economy which held the hands of our legislators
from establishing public schools. He submitted a plan for
a public school system that had been prepared at his in¬
stance. He also boldly examined what he deemed was an¬
other subject of state concern, the unhealthy condition of
the eastern counties. Urging draining as a remedy, he
recommended that the State should own its own slaves
to do the necessary work in cleaning out the rivers for
transportation and in draining the swamp lands in the east.

1829

Currituck

Inlet

Popular

elections

Brown

Senator

Internal improvement convention

Contemporaneously with the Governor's message, there
was held at Raleigh an Internal Improvement Convention,
and this was an additional influence for legislative action.
Under this stimulus the Legislature developed more sub¬
stantial activity with respect to transportation improve¬
ments. A joint committee was appointed to report on the
proposed railroad from Fayetteville to the Yadkin River.
An appropriation of $25,000 was made to build locks for
the canal at Weldon, leading into the Roanoke River; and
the House by a vote of 97 to 23 passed a bill to open
a passage from Albemarle Sound into the ocean through
Currituck Inlet, and the Board of Internal Improvements
was authorized to expend $2,000 for that purpose.

The west now achieved its first victory in its continued
struggle to alter the governmental system which bore so
heavily upon them. The election of sheriffs was taken from
the justices and given to the white voters of the counties,
and that year the election of clerks of the county courts were
likewise allowed to the voters. But there the eastern mem¬
bers of the Assembly stopped, while the west urgently con¬
tended for the election of Governor by the popular vote.

Senator Branch, having been appointed Secretary of the
Navy, resigned March 9, 1829, but as there was to be no
meeting of Congress until December, Governor Owen did
not appoint a successor. To succeed Branch Samuel P.
Carson of Burke, Montfort Stokes, Judge Murphey and
Bedford Brown were candidates. There were many ballots
taken without results, and finally Brown was elected.

ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS

327

On the death of Chief Justice Taylor, Judge Leonard
Henderson, who had been a Superior Court judge eight
years and then a member of the Supreme Court since its
formation, was chosen Chief Justice by the surviving mem¬
bers. To fill the vacancy in the court, Governor Owen ap¬
pointed Judge Toomer, who, when the Assembly met, re¬
signed, but stood for election by the Assembly. How¬
ever, on November 24, 1829, Judge Thomas Ruffin was
elected. Judge Ruffin’s accession to the Supreme Court
was the beginning of a judicial career that reflected the
greatest credit on the State. He was one of the most pro¬
found lawyers of his generation, and his opinions in later
years were quoted with consideration by the English jurists.
In private and public life he was an exemplar of all that
was manly, courageous and elevated in human action.

On the resignation of Senator Macon, Macon County
was erected and named in his honor, and now to perpetuate
the memory of the great Speaker of the Senate another
county was proposed — Yancey — but the bill failed in the
Senate, noes 33, ayes 28.

Among' the bills at that session, showing the trend of
thought, was one to incorporate the Fayetteville Female
School of Industry and to incorporate the Donaldson
Academy.

At Fayetteville there had been a firm of successful mer¬
chants, Donaldson & McMillan; the partner Robert Donald¬
son left two sons, James and Robert. They moved to New
York. James married there Miss Lenox, whose brother
gave the Lenox Library to the city. Robert married Miss
Gaston, daughter of Judge Gaston, and resided at Tarry-
town. On his departure, he gave a store lot for a school
to be under the management of the Presbytery. The school
was later established on the brow of Haymount and was
known as the Donaldson Academy. The act of incor¬
poration provided for an industrial department, allowing
such pupils as chose to do so to pay for their tuition with
their labor. Other such schools were started in various
parts of the State, and indeed from the very beginning of
the agitation for public schools, the object was to open

Henderson

Chief

Justice

Supreme

Court

Ruffin on
the bench

Macon

County

The

Donaldsons

Industrial

School

328

AN ERA OF PROGRESS

The tariff

House
Journal
1830, p. 16

the way for poor children to obtain an education, there
being no purpose to educate at public expense those able
to pay.

The Governor’s recommendation for the opening of Cur¬
rituck Inlet was approved by the Legislature ; but those
about railways were not acted on.

In the Senate a bill was passed to incorporate a new
State bank, but eventually it was postponed in the House,
at the instance of Gaston, by a majority of four, and in¬
stead, again at Gaston’s instance, a bill was passed extending
the time for the banks to wind up their affairs.

There developed much feeling against the course of Con¬
gress in the matter of tariff duties and internal improve¬
ments. The legislatures of South Carolina, Virginia,
Georgia and Missouri had passed resolutions denouncing
the action of Congress on these subjects, and Vermont had
passed counter resolutions. Resolutions were introduced in
each house ; but no action was taken. In contrast with other
resolutions offered, those of Mr. Worth were : “Although
the tariff laws are unwise and oppressive to the Southern
States, we cannot concur with the extremely violent and dan¬
gerous remedies to which the South Carolina doctrine of
nullification manifestly tends.”

The State being agricultural, Macon and the public men
generally regarded that the tariff was inimical to their in¬
terests ; and they also held that the Federal government had
no right to use public revenues for internal improvements.

Such principles became the basis of party divisions in the
State; and so firmly were they fixed that when Jackson
vetoed an internal improvement measure, the Maysville
Road Bill, the Legislature applauded him ; and when a
charter was being considered for the North Carolina Central
Road, a proposition was made that “if the company should
sell stock to or receive any aid from the Federal govern¬
ment, the charter should be forfeited,” but the proposed
amendment failed.

Within the State only slight aid had been given to the
construction of some important highways ; and so, likewise,
when the improvement of water transportation began, al-

WATERWAY OPERATIONS

329

though stock was taken in companies to improve the
Roanoke and Cape Fear rivers, these enterprises were left
largely to the individual citizens. The chief exception,
where the State acted itself, was in removing the obstruc¬
tions in the lower Cape Fear, but other than that the work
had been left in private hands, and although the operations
on the Roanoke and Dan had been very beneficial, the efforts
to improve the Catawba and Yadkin had not borne satis¬
factory fruit. Indeed, some enterprising spirits had suf¬
fered heavy losses in the failure of their plans to improve
these streams, especially the Catawba.

State

non-action

CHAPTER XXI

1830

The Roanoke
trade

The

Petersburg

road

The Capitol Burned

Excitement over the tariff and incendiary publications. — The
Weldon Canal. — The trade to Norfolk. — The Petersburg Railroad.
— The experimental road. — The Homestead Exemption fails; also
to establish a State bank; also to remove free negroes from the
State. — Mangum and Owen clash. — The settlement. — Mangum
Senator. — Stokes Governor. — Alabama presents Jackson for
President. — The political resolves. — The Government House and
the Capitol to be painted. — The roof of the Capitol on fire. — Re¬
pairs ordered. — Motion to place the statue of Washington on
rollers not passed. — Thomas Bragg repairs the State House. —
Movement of population. — The causes of emigration. — The in¬
crease of the west. — The Teachers’ Institute. — Conflagrations at
Raleigh. — The Capitol destroyed. — Loss of the Library and statue
of Washington. — The contest over removal of capital. — Two rail¬
roads projected. — The convention and rebuilding postponed. —
Hughes contracts to restore the statue, but fails. — A free school
in Johnston. — Manufacturing corporations. — Abolition. — Agi¬
tation. — Insurrection designed. — The Nat Turner insurrection. —
The plot at Wilmington. — Six negroes executed. — Judge Gaston’s
address.

At the next session, Governor Owen repeated his former
recommendations and urged that the tariff duties called
for a solemn protest. He adverted to ‘'the deep excitement
that has pervaded the South” on this subject, the conditions
that “threaten the separation of the Union” ; and he com¬
municated, as well, “an incendiary publication circulated
extensively throughout the Southern country, ... a sys¬
tematic attempt to sow sedition among the slaves.”

The canal passing around the rapids of the Roanoke had
been opened to Weldon, and in 1830, there were eight boats
regularly engaged in transporting the produce of the Roan¬
oke and Dan through the canal from Elizabeth City to
Norfolk. It was this trade that spurred Petersburg to
action, and Norfolk, too — the prize they were contending
for. And now Virginia acted on the subject of railroads.
On the 10th of February, 1830, the Petersburg Railroad
Company was incorporated at Richmond, and the Legisla¬
ture of North Carolina, with some slight amendments and

RAILROAD EXPERIMENT

33i

additions, enacted the same charter as the road entered
North Carolina and had its terminus on the Roanoke in
this State.

It was thought by some desirable that an experimental
railroad should be constructed as an object lesson. No
more favorable site for such a road could be found than that
at Fayetteville; but the citizens were slow to undertake the
expense. At length, however, in December, 1830, a bill
was introduced to build the Camphellton and Fayetteville
Railroad out of the funds of the State, but such a measure
having been referred to the committee on internal im¬
provement, that committee reported that “finances of the
State did not justify the construction of the road,” and it
failed to pass ; and then, on motion of Mr. Henry abandon¬
ing State aid, it was so amended as to incorporate the Fay¬
etteville Railroad Company, and eventually it passed on
Christmas Day, 1830. But work on the road was delayed;
and the credit of successfully operating such an experimental
road was lost by Fayetteville.

A most important proposition failed at this session. Al¬
ready imprisonment for debt had been abolished, and now
it was proposed to establish a homestead exemption. Fifty
acres of land including the home premises were to be
exempt from execution. On January 3, 1831, the bill being
in the Senate and the vote a tie, the Speaker gave the casting
vote against it, and it failed ; another generation was to
pass before such a beneficent measure was adopted. So
also, a bill to establish a bank with the funds of the State
that had long been under discussion in the Senate being
put to a vote, there was a tie; broken by the Speaker’s
casting vote, and the bill was indefinitely postponed. An¬
other measure of interest was the report of a select com¬
mittee, William B. Meares, chairman, on a proposition to
remove free persons of color from the State. Such a bill
was favorably reported, but was not acted on by the House.

To fill out Macon’s term as Senator, Judge Iredell was
chosen in December, 1828, Mangum, whose name had been
mentioned, having yielded that honor to Iredell, he himself
taking a judgeship. Now as the end of that term ap-

Homestead

exemption

proposed

332

THE CAPITOL BURNED

1831

Mangum and
Governor
Owen clash

Mangum

Senator

Biog. Hist.,
Y, 242, 244

proached, Mangum became a candidate, as also were Gov¬
ernor Owen, Judge Donnell, R. D. Spaight and Montfort
Stokes, the latter being a western man. It was thought bv
some that Judge Donnell would beat Owen for Senator
and that Spaight would beat him as Governor. Such was
the combination against Owen. But Mangum was de¬
termined to be Senator and] he was bitter that Owen, being
eligible as Governor another year, should have entered the
race for Senator. When the ballots were in progress on the
opening in December, Mangum wrote letters denouncing
Owen’s political principles and at once notified Owen of
his letters and avowed his willingness to give him the sat¬
isfaction usual among gentlemen. Owen accepted his chal¬
lenge, Louis D. Henry being his second ; and W. M. Sneed
acted for Mangum. Mangum then directed his name to be
withdrawn; but on December 3, Judge Saunders wrote Man¬
gum that hi§ letter was not received until there had been
two ballots — that Owen had 97 votes, he 86 and 14 blanks.
He proposed postponing the election till next session, and
added “Charles Fisher feels confident your presence and
nothing else can save us from Owen’s election. I view his
success as fatal to our future prospects.” Eventually the
affair of honor was called off,* and Owen retired from the
race, and Mangum was chosen Senator as a supporter of
Jackson, and he resigned as judge. While this was an
unusually bitter contest, yet in a measure it illustrates the
course of affairs among the public men of that period. For
the governorship, after many ballots, Montfort Stokes was
successful over J. T. McKay of Bladen ; and Owen retired to
his plantation in Bladen. He was a gentleman of a nice
sense of honor and a man of ability.

*It seems probable that Mangum withdrew his letter, and so the trouble
was amicably settled; and that this was brought about by John Chavis, a re¬
markable negro man. Chavis had been educated by Dr. Weatherspoon,
the President of Princeton, just before the Revolution, and served as a
soldier in the war. Eventually he became a licensed Presbyterian minister.
He was respected as a man of education, good sense and most estimable
character and as a teacher and minister. In 1808 he opened a school in
Raleigh for the white children; and with “an evening school to ten o’clock
for colored children.’’ Attention being paid not only to their education,
but to their morals which he deemed an important part of their education.
Later he had a school in Granville County and he taught at Hillsboro and
elsewhere, among his pupils being boys who subsequently became distinguished,
such as Senator Mangum and others. He was esteemed and respected.

REPAIRS ON STATE BUILDINGS

333

Now that the Congressional caucus had been discarded
the Legislatures of some of the states substituted the prac¬
tice of presenting the name of their presidential candidate.
Alabama had originally presented Andrew Jackson and now
again did so. In the Assembly there were several shades
of opinion. There were those bitterly opposed to nullifi¬
cation; those sustaining Jackson’s administration, especially
because he had turned his back on internal improvements
by Congress. Various resolutions were introduced. Jona¬
than Worth offered one that “The Legislature does not
recognize the right of an individual state to nullify a law
of the Lhiited States and that the Union must be preserved.”
While the part relating to the preservation of the Union was
adopted unanimously; that denying the right of nullifica¬
tion did not receive the sanction of twenty-seven members
who were followers of Calhoun.

Another set of resolutions offered by Sawyer approving
Jackson’s administration, and especially his veto of the
Mayfield Road Bill and declaring that his reelection was
highly necessary to preserve the Union, passed the House
by 97 to 9. Among the nays were Barringer, Joseph A.
Hill, Mendenhall and Worth. Worth would not vote for
Jackson. In the Senate these resolutions were tabled 20
to 16, which brought forth protests that “while the resolu¬
tions spoke the wishes of a large majority of the people,
a few persons in the Senate could defeat them.”

On December 27, 1830, a resolution was passed to require
that the Government House, as the Governor’s residence was
called, be covered with good shingles and painted, and that
the roof of the Capitol be painted and the leaks in the gut¬
ters stopped. On the evening of January 6, 1831, while the
Assembly was in session, the roof of the State House caught
on fire, but through the exertions of John B. Muse and
others, including half a dozen negro slaves, the fire was
subdued. The next day the Assembly passed a bill direct¬
ing that the building should be covered with some metal,
so as to be fire-proof, and that a cistern should be con¬
structed on the lot and a fire engine and buckets provided
and that repairs should be made to the State House, the

The factions

The Capitol
on fire

334

THE CAPITOL BURNED

1831

The

migration

Governor’s house and the Secretary's office. It was pro¬
posed, because of the possibility of fire, that the statue of
Washington should be placed on rollers so that it might
be removed in case of need ; hut the session was now near
its close and the motion was not considered. After the ad¬
journment of the Assembly the contract for repairing the
State House was let to Thomas Bragg, a builder.

Tlte movement of population

There was a prevailing impression that the eastern part
of the State was very unhealthy, the cause being largely
attributed to the swamps and undrained lands. At that
period, before the days of buggies, travel was generally
on horseback although some persons used gigs and a few
carriages. The judges who rode the eastern circuits found
their health impaired and some even resigned on that ac¬
count, so notwithstanding the advantage of water trans¬
portation enjoyed by the residents of the east, there was a
disposition to move away. By the census of 1800, eight
eastern counties had lost population, among them Craven
and Halifax, and others fell far below the general average
of increase. In 1810, six eastern counties lost population,
and others fell below the general average of increase, six¬
teen per cent. In the next period, four more at the east
had lost population, among them New Hanover; nor did
the emigrants stop in the western counties. They sought
homes farther away. Perhaps there being much land, and
but little systematic improvement of the open fields either
by the use of manure or by rotation of crops, constant cul¬
tivation resulted in the impoverishment of the soil. Certainly
taxation was not oppressive, six cents on the hundred dollars
worth of property, and the assessment very low. Nor were
the emigrants from the poor, illiterate class. On the con¬
trary it was the better class that was able to remove, men
who hoped to better their fortunes. The movement was so
observable that one of the Governors in directing the atten-
tion of the Assembly to it, mentioned that “the sons having
gone to the west, and established homes for themselves, their
fathers proposing to join them were offering their farms

MOVEMENT OF POPULATION

335

for sale, and there was everywhere throughout the State
much land for sale and no purchasers.” Among the emi¬
grants were many men of substance and education who
carried their slaves with them. And so it was also at the
west, although the movement from the Piedmont region was
mostly to north of the Ohio.

The Piedmont region had originally been occupied by
Germans and Scotch-Irish, and later, came Quakers from
Nantucket and elsewhere. These, like the Moravians at
Salem, had multiplied.

The great revival of 1800 led to the organization of the
Synod of the Lutherans in May, 1803. In 1806, in Orange
and Guilford there were three Lutheran churches ; in Rowan
four, in Lincoln eight, and Lutherans had extended into Ire¬
dell, Burke and Wilkes. There were also congregations of
the Reformed German Church. Thousands of German
families, however, migrated to Ohio, Indiana and Illinois so
that there were Lutheran congregations in those states
composed almost entirely of North Carolinians.

In 1806 the Moravians had six congregations, five using
the German language and one the English. And similarly the
Lutherans held to the German for generations ; so likewise
the Gaelic was still in use on the upper Cape Fear.

The exodus that was annually kept up for decades by the
Lutherans did not extend to the Moravians, nor so posi¬
tively to the Scotch-Irish : but later it swept vigorously
through the Quaker settlements, those emigrants going par¬
ticularly to Indiana. Mrs. Coffin is said to have given the
names of 300 Quaker families whose removal to Indiana
she individually knew of. This general movement was sup¬
posed to be to a land of promise ; but by this time it is notable
that there were slaves and free negroes in every county:
in Ashe, 600; Burke, 800; Buncombe, 1750; Macon, 496 and
Haywood, 452; and this influenced the Quakers, also. But
elsewhere there was a similar movement of population.
The census of 1830 shows that Connecticut, the land of
steady habits and of common schools, gained in that decade
but eight per cent in population ; New Hampshire, but ten

The

Germans

Bernheim,

393

The

Quakers

The

per cent

336

THE CAPITOL BURNED

The

incentive

Ideals

per cent ; South Carolina gained only eight per cent ; North
Carolina, thirteen, and Virginia, fifteen per cent.

The general incentive to removal was hope of better lo¬
cation. In 1819, Murphey, the foremost man in the State
in progressive ideas, had a notion to quit the State “as soon
as I get my debts paid off” ; and later he had a settled pur¬
pose to remove. Whole connections, like those associated
with the Revolutionary patriot, Col. William Shepperd,
moved together; the families of William B. Grove, John
Hay, Sam Porter Ashe and the educator, Dr. Rogers, all
having married sisters, removed to Tennessee about 1825.
And so it was frequently. Indeed, a North Carolinian liv¬
ing in a new home wrote: “I was almost in hopes that her
wise men would have abolished the Supreme Court and by
that means have driven from the State the eminent men who
yet linger within her borders.” And it is to be remarked
that much of the patronage of the State University came
from the families that had moved away. Indeed the exodus
appears, to have come from the natural desire of enter¬
prising people to better their fortunes, shared alike at the
north and at the south. At that period the public mind had
long been directed to State improvement. The chief
thought was to make life more tolerable. The first en¬
deavor had been to improve the rivers and water-courses.
The communities were far separated ; a line through the
State from the northeast to the southwest would reach to
Canada. Community interests were not similar. There
were natural obstacles to development, and in the sparsely
settled country there were obstacles even to much personal
intercourse between the various strains of population located
in the several sections of the State. Yet it is to be observed
that the reports of Murphey, the first geological survey,
the employment of Fulton, and efforts to improve the rivers
and introduce railroads, and many other similar measures
attest gratifying intellectual activity. The public men were
efficient but conditions were not favorable to achievement.

EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY

3 37

The Teachers’ Institute

In the spring of 1831, the teachers and others interested
in education were urged to attend at the commencement of
the University in June and associate themselves into a
society. Many did so. On organization, for president was
chosen Dr. Simmons G. Baker, originally of Martin County
but later a resident of Raleigh. Dr. Baker was mentioned
in 1829 by Dr. Mitchell “as a man of liberal education, very
lively and intelligent in his conversation, a trustee of the
University. . . . He sets a higher value on the amor

patriae than any man I have ever known.” Doctor
McPheeters, Rev. William M. Green and Judge Nash were
the vice-presidents. Various gentlemen were asked to
deliver addresses at the next meeting, and at the meeting
in 1833, Joseph A. Hill, understood to have been the most
accomplished orator of that period, delivered the address,
“rendered more acceptable by the wit, fancy and felicity and
eloquence of language which accompanied and embellished
it.” But the subsequent meetings of the Society were not
reported in the papers ; apparently the Institute passed away.

The Capitol destroyed

Already Raleigh had suffered severely by extensive con¬
flagrations. On several occasions the east side of Fayette¬
ville Street between Union Square and Martin Street had
been partially swept away. When Thomas Bragg, the con¬
tractor, had nearly completed his work of covering the
Capitol with a metal roof, through the carelessness of a
workman, the building caught within the roof. On the
bright morning in June 21 the citizens were startled by the
alarm of fire, volumes of smoke were seen issuing from the
ventilators under the roof. Judge Battle narrates that just
as he stepped out of his hotel, looking towards the building,
he saw owls flying from the attic windows, followed by
lurid flames. There were no adequate means for the ex¬
tinguishment of the fire. The citizens gathered and ad¬
dressed themselves to saving the State papers, but the
statue of Washington could not be removed. As the hours
22

1831

June 21,
1831

The

statue of
Washington

338

THE CAPITOL BURNED

House

Journal, 145

Fayetteville
cooperates
with west

The

northeast for
rebuilding

November,

1831

Senate
Journal, 10

passed, they saw it doomed to destruction. Helpless to
avert the calamity, they gazed with horror on the splendid
work of Canova, crumbling in the heat of the conflagra¬
tion, and then shattered into fragments as the burning tim¬
bers fell upon it. The Capitol was entirely destroyed.
The Raleigh Register two days later said : “Of that noble
edifice with its special decorations nothing now remains
but the blackened walls and smouldering rums. The State
Library is also entirely consumed and the statue of Wash¬
ington, that proud monument of national gratitude which
was our pride and glory, is so mutilated and defaced that
none can behold it without mournful feelings. The most
active exertions were made to remove the chef-d’avoeure of
Canova from the ravages of the devouring elements nor
were they desisted from until the danger became imminent.”

As the day for the assembling of the Legislature ap¬
proached, the congregation of the Presbyterian Church pa¬
triotically “tendered the use of their meeting house for the
accommodation of the House of Commons, and their ses¬
sion room for the Senate,” but Governor Stokes had the
Government House prepared for the use of the Legislature.
When the members of the Assembly arrived he tendered
them its use. There was some question whether the Legis¬
lature could lawfully sit in a building outside of the cor¬
porate limits, but the qualms of conscience were quieted.
The destruction of the Capitol brought a new sectional ques¬
tion into the realm of action. Fayetteville hoped to profit
from the situation, and the west being anxious for railroads
and for a convention now evidently there was room for
an alliance. The northeast had originally fixed on the site
of Raleigh for the Capital and now stood firmly for no
change of location, besides the northeast was not interested
in either the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad or in
the central road. Wilmington and the Cape Fear section
stood with Fayetteville both as to railroads and the removal
of the Capitol. Hardly had the Assembly met when Senator
Seawell of Wake introduced a bill making an appropriation
for rebuilding the Capitol on Lmion Square. The amount
was at first left blank ; but when he took the bill up, he

PROPOSITION TO REBUILD

339

suggested $30,000. Judge Toomer of Fayetteville pro¬
posed $100,000. The Senate inserted $30,000; but Martin
of Rockingham moved to postpone until November next,
which was carried 32 to 31. Two days later Dishough of
Onslow proposed a joint committee to inquire into the ex¬
pediency of chartering a road from Beaufort to the Blue
Ridge and Judge Toomer proposed that the same com¬
mittee should inquire as to the building of a road from the
Cape Fear to the Yadkin; and Williams of Franklin pro¬
posed a road from Louisburg to meet the Petersburg road
near Halifax. Each of these propositions had its bearing
on the rebuilding of the Capitol. Gaston was delayed in
attending. When he appeared on December 16, it was
arranged that he should serve on this railroad committee ;
and coincident with that, Harper of Greene introduced a
bill in the House to rebuild the Capitol at Raleigh. Two
days later Gaston reported the two railroad bills that con¬
cerned the west, and they were made the order for the fol¬
lowing day. Then the House took up the Capitol bill.
W. H. Haywood, Jr., in support and Louis D. Henry in
opposition. The discussion continued for two days, it
being affirmed that the capital could be removed only by a
convention. Then Henry carried his point, and the bill
failed by a vote of 65 for; 68 against. The west was now
hopeful of a convention and a bill authorizing the election
of delegates to a constitutional convention was submitted.
On January 4, 1832, the House went into committee of the
whole to consider the resolutions. The discussion was con¬
tinued on the 5th and 6th, when at last a motion to postpone
indefinitely was carried by 70 to 55. As far as she could,
Fayetteville rallied her friends for the support of this prop¬
osition, but the lower Cape Fear country did not stand
solidly with her. Senator John M. Dick of Guilford of¬
fered a resolution to have an election for delegates to a
constitutional convention, while in the House the two rail¬
road bills were passed and were sent to the Senate. The
Senate now spent two days on the convention bill and post¬
poned it indefinitely, 42 to 21 ; and then the railroad bills
were passed. Three days later, Senator Sneed of Granville

1831

The contest

The west
hopes for a
convention

340

THE CAPITOL BURNED

House
Journal
1831, p. 43

The statue

Acts
1831-32,
p. 138

offered a new bill to rebuild the Capitol at Raleigh. There
was a long and stiff fight, but on January n, the eve of
adjournment, a vote was reached resulting in a tie and the
Speaker voted nay ! Both the convention and Capitol bills
had failed, but the railroad bills were passed.

During the debate on the rebuilding of the Capitol, Gaston
made two great speeches for the bill, the first of which was
published. Mr. Creecy, who heard both, said that the
second was the greatest speech ever delivered in a legis¬
lative body, and the defeat of the proposition to remove
the Capitol has been ascribed to Gaston. It was his last
service in the Assembly. He insisted that the location of
the Capitol could not be changed by the Legislature.

Governor Stokes while lamenting the destruction of the
statue of Washington said to the Assembly when it met,
that in his opinion “the loss of the building itself is not to
be considered a public calamity ; that it was very probable
that a part of the building would have fallen in a few years
and perhaps have caused the death of many of the Represent¬
atives.” The destruction of the statue, which was regarded
as one of the great treasures of the world, was lamented
not only here but throughout the North. Six days after the
fire, a sculptor, Ball Hughes, an Englishman who had been
in this country two years, wrote to Mr. Thomas Devereux
saying that Mr. Robert Lennox had suggested that he
might offer his services for restoring the statue. In Decem¬
ber, Hughes was in Raleigh, and after an examination said
he could restore it. Immediately the Legislature appointed
a committee of which Gaston was chairman who reported
that they believed Hughes could do the work satisfactorily,
and that he would charge $5,000 for the service. The Legis¬
lature authorized the Governor to make a contract with him
on the terms of the report-. Such a contract was made, and
first and last $2,800 was paid him, but unfortunately he did
not complete the work. The pieces of the statue have been
preserved at Raleigh.

The Assembly passed resolutions approving Jackson’s ad¬
ministration declaring that “the best interests of the Union
will be preserved and promoted bv his reelection and recom-

ANTI -SLAVERY CAMPAIGN

34i

mending him to the people of the United States for
reelection.”

A free school established

Among the other acts was one establishing a free school
in Johnston County. It authorized the county court to lay
a county tax to establish one or more free schools in John¬
ston County. Also at that session the Yadkin Manufac¬
turing Company was incorporated to manufacture cotton
and woolen goods. The capital stock was to be $100,000.
Charles Fisher and Samuel Lemly were among the incor¬
porators. Similarly the Neuse Manufacturing Company,
composed of William Boylan, J. O. Watson, David Thomp¬
son and others, was incorporated to manufacture cotton and
woolen goods, with a capital of $100,000.

Aat Turner’s insurrection

At this period a great campaign was conducted in England
for the emancipation of the slaves in the British West In¬
dies, which was successful in 1830, and then some English
orators made addresses in Northern States. And coincident
with their coming the basis of Northern opposition to slavery
seemed to change. Formerly it had been political; now
the moral question became more prominent. Conscience
was awakened; and fanaticism knew no bounds. Speaking
of the negroes in the State, Governor Stokes said in his
message: “Fanatics of their complexion and other incen¬
diaries have fomented their discontents and have incited
them in many instances to enter into conspiracies dan¬
gerous to the peace and safety of the country.” So, at
the session of 1830 the Joint Select Committee on the
Governor’s message, reported; “they are satisfied that an
extensive combination now exists to excite in the minds of
the slaves and colored persons of this and the other slave¬
holding states, feelings and opinions tending to insurrection.
. . . Designs have been certainly contemplated and, per¬

haps, plans actually formed, to subvert the relation of master
and slave. The actual detection of the circulation of the

New mills

1831

342

THE CAPITOL BURNED

House

Journal

238-243

Nat Turner

Wilmington

Chronicles
of the Cape
Fear, 107

incendiary publications and the accidental but partial dis¬
covery of the designs, which have been entertained by some
slaves at points of the State remote from each other, to¬
gether with the disclosure of facts relative to those designs,
leave no doubt, etc. . . . It is fruitless to complain of the
relation between master and slave. . . . It is a state of

things thrown upon us, an evil which it is impossible at
present to remedy. And when we observe the radical
difference between the ideas, the deportment and habits of
the slaves of the present day and those of twenty years since,
we are justly led to fear that unless some change in our
general police is effected, the most ruinous consequence
may be apprehended.” The committee reported bills ; one
was to prevent all persons from teaching slaves to read and
write (figures excepted) which was passed. Months after
this report was made, on Sunday night, August 21, 1831,
a. band of some sixty negroes, under the leadership of a
negro slave, Nat Turner, murdered in Southampton County,
Virginia, fifty-five persons. The next day became known
as Bloody Monday. The other whites in that vicinity fled
across the line to Murfreesboro, the nearest town. A troop
of horse was at once raised, among them being John H.
Wheeler, the historian. They along with others scoured
the country, arresting the negroes.

A plot for a similar insurrection was discovered near
Wilmington. There was much alarm felt in the country,
and the whites hurried to the town. At the fall term 1831,
of New Hanover Superior Court six negroes were
placed in jail charged with attempting to incite an insur¬
rection. Judge Strange presided and the negroes after an
impartial trial were convicted and executed. While no
other outburst is recorded there was widespread alarm :
and when the Assembly met provision was made for military
companies to be organized in many counties.

But thoughtful men realized more than ever the situation
of the Southern States, with such a large population of
Africans held to servitude, who could not without peril be
turned loose as freemen, nor deported from this country.
At the University commencement in 1832, Gaston, the fore-

DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP

343

most North Carolinian, delivered an address on the Duties
of Citizenship. In it he referred to the existence of slavery;
and said : “On you, too, will devolve the duty, which has been
too long neglected, but which cannot with impunity be neg¬
lected much longer, of providing for the mitigation, and
(is it too much to be hoped for in North Carolina) for the
ultimate extirpation of the worst evil that afflicts the south¬
ern part of our confederacy. . . . On this subject there

is with all of us a morbid sensitiveness which gives warning
even of an approach to it. How this evil is to be encoun¬
tered, how subdued, is indeed a difficult and delicate inquiry,
which this is not the time to examine or discuss. I felt
however, that I could not discharge my duty without re¬
ferring to this subject, to engage the prudence, modera¬
tion and firmness of those who, sooner or later, must act
decisively upon it. . . . Perils surround you and are

imminent, which will require clear heads, pure intentions
and stout hearts to disarm and overcome.”

Gaston’s

warning

CHAPTER XXII

Swain Governor

Influence of Virginia’s action. — The New England Society. —
Jackson breaks with Calhoun. — The Cabinet resigns. — The Na¬
tional Republicans. — The first national political convention. —
The elections go against Clay. — South Carolina calls a convention.
— It declares the tariff laws shall not be observed after Feb¬
ruary, 1833. — Jackson’s stand. — His Force Bill. — The country
goes against Clay. — He averts civil war. — The compromise. —
Mangum leaves the President. — Caldwell’s letters on schools. —
The Virginia roads, — The experimental railroad. — Political con¬
ditions. — Swain’s career. — Elected Governor. — Pearson proposes a
convention. — The Capitol to be rebuilt. — Convention fails. — Reso¬
lutions of Polk of Anson to submit the convention to popular
vote. — A tie vote. — Speaker Henry disappoints Fayetteville; de¬
feats the proposition. — The western members hold a meeting,
asking the people to vote. — The North Carolina Historical So¬
ciety. — The Bank of the iState winds up, and State Bank char¬
tered. — Provision for rebuilding. — The Internal Improvement Con¬
vention. — Caldwell’s ideas prevail. — Hill victorious over Graham
as to State policy. — The falling stars. — Swain’s great message
urges progress and reform. — He announces vote on Convention
in 30 counties. — Yancey County. — The second Improvement Con¬
vention. — Many railroad charters granted. — No State aid. — Daniel
Attorney-General. — Banks and academies. — The Manual Labor
schools. — The Griffin Free School at New Bern. — The west again
disappointed. — Chief Justice dies. — Ruffin Chief Justice. — Gaston
on thei bench. — His opions. — A free born negro a citizen. —
Will’s case.

The west successful in Virginia

Conditions in Virginia were quite similar to those in
North Carolina. The settled east, with its slave population,
and the remote west were in conflict over constitutional
reforms. At length, in 1828, the Legislature of Virginia
submitted the question of a convention to the voters, and
the west won. The convention met in October, 1829, and
adjourned in January, 1830. The changes made in the
Constitution increased the power of the western counties ;
and this object lesson necessarily had an inspiring influence

FIRST POLITICAL CONVENTION

345

- * - —

in Western Carolina. Indeed, on December 28, 1830, Mr.
Alfred C. Moore of Surry County presented resolutions in
the Assembly submitting to the voters the question of call¬
ing a convention ; but it was defeated in the House by a
vote of 74 to 53. North Carolina was not ready to follow
the example of Virginia.

Emancipation

However, the debates in the Virginia convention touch¬
ing the negro question, not only influenced the white voters
of Western Virginia, but contributed to the agitation per¬
vading the North. Indeed, at the Virginia Assembly of

1832, a proposition was offered looking to the gradual
emancipation of the slaves, following the example of Great
Britain, and despite the Nat Turner insurrection, it failed
by only one or two votes.

Virginia was about ready for gradual emancipation. But
contemporaneously with these events in Virginia, a party,
insisting on immediate abolition, sprang up at the North, and
in January, 1832, the New England Anti-Slavery Society
was formed by William Lloyd Garrison, and in December,

1833, a National Anti-Slavery Convention was held in
Philadelphia, the slogan being, “Immediate Emancipation.”
This new development tended to stifle any inclination at
the South to favorably consider gradual emancipation, and
it resulted in throwing around the slaves still greater re¬
strictions in their daily life.

Jackson reelected

About the beginning of 1831, Jackson withdrew his per¬
sonal friendship from Vice President Calhoun, and in the
spring of 1831, for social reasons, he found it necessary
to reorganize his Cabinet; and Branch along with all other
Cabinet officers resigned.

In December, 1831, when Congress met, there was held
at Baltimore the first national political convention, an in¬
novation that supplied the place of the congressional cau¬
cus. The supporters of Henry Clay, still calling thern-

The first
national
convention

346

SWAIN GOVERNOR

South

Carolina’s

action

July, 1832

The South

Carolina

convention

Nov. 1832

- f -

selves National Republicans, met there in convention and
nominated him for President and John Sergeant for Vice
President.

And in May, 1832, a similar convention of Administra¬
tion Republicans nominated Jackson and Van Buren. In the
meantime, Congress was considering a new tariff bill, intro¬
duced by Clay, that was worse in its provisions and oper¬
ations than “the Bill of Abominations/’ and it became a
law in July. It added fuel to the fire raging in South Caro¬
lina, where the State Convention was called with the view
of declaring the Tariff Act null and void in South Carolina.

When the Presidential election was held Jackson received
a popular vote of 687,502; Clay 530,189; Jackson had
219 electoral votes while Clay had only 49; and Van Buren
became Vice President. Calhoun resigned as Vice Presi¬
dent and returned to the Senate.

When the South Carolina Convention met, the Virginia
Legislature sent a commissioner to urge it to postpone ac¬
tion until Congress could consider the situation, and the
Convention, listening to the appeal of Virginia, postponed
the crisis by declaring that the tariff legislation should be
of no effect in that state after February 1, 1833. A breath¬
ing spell was thus afforded to Congress. But Jackson was
determined to enforce the laws, and he issued a proclama¬
tion against nullification that, as a state paper, was of the
highest merit, and he asked Congress to pass a force bill.
In the Senate this Force Bill passed by a bare quorum, with
one vote in the negative, the other Senators not voting.
The country having gone so positively against Clay that he
realized that the “American system” was doomed, and the
danger of civil war being imminent, and Clay, being always
apprehensive that Jackson, the military hero, would assume
the reins of government as dictator, now sought to compose
differences, and held conferences with Calhoun and others to
save the country from war. A new tariff measure was
agreed on that was satisfactory to Calhoun. It provided
for a reduction of duties for nine years, the abandonment of
protection, and for revenue duties of twenty per cent ad va¬
lorem. It was a complete settlement of the vexed question

AGITATION FOR EDUCATION

34 7

and allayed the antagonism of that period. Clay had received
applause on bringing about the amicable settlement of
differences in 1821, and now ten years later he was hailed as
the great patriot, saving the Union by his compromise.
During the progress of these measures, Senator Mangum
who had at the previous election been a Jackson elector,
drew away from his old leader, and became a supporter of
Clay, while Senator Bedford Brown adhered to the admin¬
istration. In the meantime another subject that was des¬
tined to agitate the public mind was taking shape. The
charter of the United States Bank at Philadelphia was about
to expire and Jackson was opposed to its extension. These
differences led to important realignments. .

Caldwell’s letters on schools

Dr. Caldwell, who had so strongly urged the construction
of a central railroad without avail in 1830, began an agita¬
tion for the education of the people of the State.

In a series of a dozen letters brought together and pub¬
lished in 1832, along with a voluminous appendix, he urged
the subject of education on the attention of the people. He
realized that there was no possibility of establishing public
schools in the counties either by taxation or by borrowing
the necessary funds. The unfortunate condition of the
interior of the State, where the people were denied facilities
for transporting their produce to market so that nothing
except cotton could be profitably raised and sold abroad,
made it difficult for them even to pay their necessary taxes.
Therefore, nothing was to be gained by studying the New
York system which had been started, founded on local
taxation, or that of Connecticut where the interests on the
fund derived from the sale of Connecticut’s part of Ohio
sufficed to maintain the schools. Here a different system
must be resorted to, taxation being out of the question. He
urged that as the Literary Fund amounted to $100,000, the
interest on that should be used to establish a central school
for the preparation of teachers. These competent teachers
being ready for employment, the people would establish

The

compromise

1832

The want of
teachers

348

SWAIN GOVERNOR

1832

The

railroads

The

experimental

railroad

schools for them : for he largely ascribed the absence of
schools to the want of teachers. Although some of the
graduates of the University taught schools, yet the courses
at the University were rather for the education of those en¬
gaging in the learned professions than in the practical work
of teaching children. While Dr. Caldwell’s plan was not
carried into execution, his letters contributed to keeping
the general subject of public education before the public,
and there were constant efforts made to start the ball, but
without avail.

The Petersburg Railroad was now under construction,
and as it progressed it hauled freight and passengers with
the result of illustrating to the people of Halifax the value
of this new system of transportation.

Similarly, the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad was
being built, and each of these companies needed some legis¬
lation. The first desired a terminus at a point on the Roan¬
oke where the land belonged to J. S. Amis and the Legis¬
lature authorized the incorporation of a town there to be
known as Blakely in honor of the naval hero ; and the
Portsmouth road desired a terminus opposite Weldon and
the Legislature assented.

As it was thought that the Capitol would be rebuilt at
Raleigh and in its construction stone would be used, quarried
on the State’s land in the vicinity, a road was being built to
haul the stone, and in November a charter was granted to
“Joseph Gales, William Polk, George W. Mordecai and
others who have; heretofore subscribed and commenced
the erection of an experimental railroad under the name of
‘Experimental Railroad Company.’ ”

There has b.een a well-founded tradition that the first con¬
ception of this project was by Mrs. Sarah Polk, the wife
of Col. William Polk; she was one of the most urgent pro¬
moters of the undertaking and the Polks were the principal
stockholders.

The company had been organized in the summer ; and
fortunately a competent engineer was at hand to construct
the road. At the former residence of Chief Justice Taylor
at Raleigh, a military school was in progress under the di-

THE RALEIGH RAILROAD

349

rection of Captain Daniel Bingham, and he with two of
his pupils, Richard B. Haywood and another, had super¬
vision of the work. The cost was $22,500 a mile. The
construction was well done ; and the road was nearly com¬
pleted when the Assembly met and granted the charter. It
was finished January 1, 1833. “A handsome car was put
on it for the use of ladies and gentlemen desiring to take
a railroad airing.” The motive power was a good old
horse. People came from the adjoining counties to ride on
it: but its chief use was in hauling stone for the Capitol.
As an enterprise the road was a success and it made money
for the stockholders. Such was the beginning of railways in
North Carolina.

When the Assembly met in November, 1832, the members
were much divided both as to state questions and the Federal
matters that had agitated the people during the year. Up¬
permost was, perhaps, the dread of war, the attitude of
South Carolina threatening nullification and secession, and
the known determination of the President to ignore such
action and enforce the laws, following his proclamation and
application to Congress for a force bill.

Jackson was not imbued with the principles of the Ken¬
tucky Resolutions of 1798, of which Jefferson was the
author, but held that the Union must be maintained and the
laws enforced. The difference between him and South
Carolina was irreconcilable. In the Assembly there were
some in full sympathy with South Carolina, while the
majority, although denouncing the tariff as even unconsti¬
tutional, were intent that the Union should be preserved.
In State matters, the new subject of railroads claimed at¬
tention, but of surpassing interest were the unsettled ques¬
tions of the rebuilding of the State House at Raleigh, and
of calling a convention to relieve the western counties of the
injustice they suffered under the existing Constitution.

To meet Judge Gaston’s view that the State capital could
not be removed by legislative' action, some of those who
favored removal now hoped for a convention to deal with
that matter.

1832

Battle’s
address,
1877, p. 64

Nullification

Other

questions

350

SIVAIN GOVERNOR

1832

Governor

Swain

The western
grants

No change was made in the presiding officers : but Gov¬
ernor Stokes who, having served only two terms as Gov¬
ernor, was eligible to a reelection, announced that he had
accepted an appointment from the President as commis¬
sioner to make treaties with the Indians at the far West,
and would not be a candidate. A new Governor was to be
chosen. Richard D. Spaight, Thomas G. Polk of Rowan,
and John Branch were aspirants. After ineffectual bal¬
loting for several days Judge Swain was proposed and
was elected. The rise of this young Buncombe man was
phenomenal. His mother was a sister of Joel Lane of
Raleigh, and after four months at the University, he had
studied law in Raleigh under Chief Justice Taylor, and had
served his native county in the Assembly for five years,
ending in 1829. During this period he married Miss White
of Raleigh, a granddaughter of Governor Caswell, and be¬
came a brother-in-law of Hon. D. L. Barringer, Represent-
active in Congress from the Wake district, who had married a
sister of Miss White. While still in the Assembly a bitter
contest had arisen between two lawyers of the Edenton dis¬
trict for the office of solicitor of that district. To end the
feud, both factions, by common consent, agreed to com¬
promise by taking this Buncombe lawyer. Swain served
as solicitor during one circuit, and then in December, 1830,
he was elected judge of the Superior court. He had served
but two years in that capacity when he was chosen Governor,
taking the office December 6, 1832, being then not thirty-two
years of age. He had, however, given assurance not only
of fine character but of great industry and unusual mental
capacity. Years earlier several hundred thousand acres
of land in the western part of the State had been entered
by some citizens of Pennsylvania, who had perfected their
grants : but these lands were within the Indian reservation.
Later, after the State bought these lands from the Indians,
native citizens also made entries and perfected their grants
in the same territory. It .was now considered that the
former grants were void ; and in the conflict of interest, the
State determined to defend the title of its citizens under the
later grants. Judge Badger was employed by the State,

MOVEMENT FOR A CONVENTION

35i

and he associated the young Buncombe lawyer with him in
the case. To Swain was due the preparation of the hundred
cases brought in ejectment against the actual residents.
Swain’s fee was $1,000; the cases were not finally deter¬
mined when Swain was elected Governor, and he returned to
the State $500, one-half of his fee.

The cases were eventually won in the Supreme Court of
the United States, and Judge Badger ascribed the result to
Swain’s indomitable industry, patient research and acumen.
Such were the characteristics of this unusually gifted young
mountaineer now called to direct the affairs of state ; and
in him the west found a powerful colaborer for all of its just
claims for State action.

A week after the Assembly met, Richmond Pearson then
of Rowan, introduced a resolution to appoint a joint select
committee, one member of each house from every Congres¬
sional district, to consider the subject of a convention. The
House responded favorably, as also did the Senate. On
the same day Mr. Long offered a bill making an appropria¬
tion for building the Capitol at Raleigh. A fortnight passed
and the House by a vote of 73 to 60 passed the Long bill
which reached the Senate on December 17. The next day
the select committee on convention to whom had been
referred a resolution relative to the seat of government,
made a report accompanied by a bill providing for a con¬
vention. The fight was now on. Mr. Collins moved that
the consideration of the convention bill be indefinitely post¬
poned, and was successful, the vote being 33 to 27. When
two days later Long’s House bill to build the Capitol at
Raleigh came up in the Senate, Senator Hoke moved that
each county should collect as taxes $780 and the Capitol
should be built out of that fund only. However that was a
feeble effort, having only seven votes to sustain it ; and the
bill passed finally 33 to 30. The efforf to remove the Capitol
had failed. The State House was to be rebuilt. In the
meantime a motion in the House on December 20, to take up
a bill to establish the western county of Yancey resulted in
a tie, and the Speaker, L. D. Henry, voting in the affirma¬
tive, the bill was taken up and the next day passed 63 to 60 ;

1833

Swain’s

industry

The

convention

movement

The Capitol
to be rebuilt

House

Journal, 197

352

SWAIN GOVERNOR

Ibid., 211

Ibid.,

232-233

Speaker
disappoints
the west

The west
appeals to
the people

but three days later it failed in the Senate 27 to 33. On
the same day the committee on convention reported in the
Senate a bill for a convention, and it was postponed ; Mr.
Pearson from the same committee then reported in the
House a bill for taking the votes of the people for or
against certain proposed amendments to the Constitution :
but the consideration of that bill was postponed until next
November.

The west defeated at every turn was now desperate, and
on the eve of the final day of the session, Mr. Park of
Anson offered a series of strong resolutions : “That the
location of the seat of government at some convenient and
proper place (such as Haywood) would be highly con¬
ducive to rearing a large and flourishing commercial town
so necessary for the attainment of general prosperity; that
the election of the chief magistrate ought to be by direct
vote of the people, and for a longer period than one year;
that a convention is absolutely necessary; that it be recom¬
mended to the people, at next election, to determine by
ballot whether or not a convention should be called. ” The
introduction of these resolutions was instantly met by a
motion to table. The result was a tie 58 to 58.

Now for a moment the west was jubilant, the Speaker,
Louis D. Henry, represented Fayetteville, and Fayetteville
was the friend of the west. But Henry disappointed all
reasonable expectations and offended Fayetteville by voting
to table. The western members were dismayed by his
action ; but quickly they determined to appeal to the people.
On the same day, January 4, they held “a large and respecta¬
ble. meeting, and adopted an address to the people, urging
them to vote at the next August election on the subject of
holding a convention,” and for the sheriffs to make due re¬
turn thereof to the Governor, for Governor Swain was in
entire accord and sympathy with the movement. With or
without legislative sanction, the people would speak.

While the Governor's mansion was officially known as the
Government House, at this period it seems to have been
also called the Palace, for on January 1, 1833, a committee
of Senators was raised “to examine the roof of the Palace.”

IMPROVEMENT CONVENTION

353

At this session the North Carolina Historical Society was
incorporated, among the members being James Iredell, Gov¬
ernor Swain, Alfred Moore, Louis D. Henry, Isaac T.
Avery, Joseph A. Hill, William D. Moseley and Richmond
Pearson. Such was the earliest manifestations of Gov¬
ernor Swain’s interest in historical subjects, which later won
him a particular distinction and added to his great usefulness.

The old Bank of the State of North Carolina after Judge
Ruffin went on the Supreme Court again elected Judge
Duncan Cameron its president, and he succeeded in winding
it up admirably. At this session there was chartered the
State Bank, the State taking a million dollars of stock and
private individuals were allowed to subscribe another million.
Thereafter the banking business in the State came to a
sound basis and ceased to give public concern.

To rebuild the State House, William Boylan, Duncan
Cameron, Treasurer William S. Mhoon, Judge Henry Sea-
well, and R. M. Saunders were appointed commissioners.
They were to employ an architect, and make contracts, and
the granite from the State quarry was to be used. An ap¬
propriation was made of $50,000, but at the next session
the limit was removed and the commissioners were empow¬
ered to draw such warrants as were necessary to complete
the building.

Internal Improvement Convention

The era of railroads had arrived. Dr. Caldwell’s letters
were now understood and public thought was directed to
this new method of transportation. Hope of advantages
to the State was awakened. On July 4, 1833, there met at
Raleigh one hundred and twenty delegates, representing
twenty-one counties, chiefly in the eastern and northern sec¬
tions of the State. It was the first concerted effort to se¬
cure railroad facilities and was known as the Internal Im¬
provement Convention.

Governor Swain, ever an advocate of progress, presided,
while Treasurer Samuel L. Patterson and Charles Manly,
the clerk of the House, were secretaries. The personnel of

the body was so remarkable that it was recorded : “So manv
23

1833

Historical

Society

The State
Bank

Building

commis¬

sioners

Cape Fear

Chronicles,

158

354

SWAIN GOVERNOR

The State
policy

distinguished and talented men are said never before to have
assembled in the State.”

William A. Graham, then in the prime of his rare abilities,
urged as the policy of the State three north and south lines
of railroad, conforming to the course of trade that the
natural conditions had imposed on the inhabitants of the
several divisions of the State. He was antagonized by
Joseph Alston Hill of Wilmington, who inherited the Demos¬
thenic powers of his grandfather, General Ashe, and pro¬
posed the policy advocated by Caldwell of building up the
State by marketing the produce of the west through the sea¬
ports of the east. A State policy was to be inaugurated. It
was a battle of giants ; Hill won. The convention adopted
resolutions to the effect that the General Assembly ought
to raise by loans such sums as will “afford substantial as¬
sistance in the prosecution of the public works ; that the
State should subscribe for two-fifths of the stock ; that no
work should be encouraged for conveying produce to a
primary market out of the State; and that a corresponding
committee of twenty be appointed in each county; and that
a second convention be held on the fourth Monday in No¬
vember.” Steps were at once taken to give body and sub¬
stance to its resolves. Circulars were issued to counties
urging action. Propositions were formulated for the people
to apply for charters for railroad companies. Much interest
was aroused. The people responded.

The falling stars

“By far the most splendid display of shooting meteors on
record was that of November 13, 1833. It seems to have
been visible over nearly the whole of the northern portion
of the American continent, or, more exactly, from the Ca¬
nadian lakes nearly to the equator. Over this immense
area a sight of the most imposing grandeur seems to have
been witnessed. The phenomenon commenced at about
midnight, and was at its height at about 5 a.m. Several of
the meteors were of peculiar form and considerable mag¬
nitude. One was especially remarked from its remaining
for some time in the zenith over the Falls of Niagara,

FALLING STARS

355

emitting radiant streams of light. In many parts of the
country the population were terror-stricken by the beauty
and magnificence of the spectacle before them.”

The Raleigh Register said editorially on November 19 :
“On Wednesday morning our attention was called to the
most sublime meteoric display we have ever witnessed. We
observed it first about an hour before day, an unusual bril¬
liancy lighting the room. From the zenith to the horizon
on every side, space was filled with what seemed falling
stars, some gliding gently downward, some rushing madly
from their sphere, all with a grandeur which no language
can describe. . . . The occasion was to many, of course,

the cause of great alarm; to some from ignorance; to others
from a constitutional propensity to superstition. It is said
that prayers were offered by lips that never prayed before.
Some said the light was so bright that they could read by
it. Travelers, alone on the roads, were particularly im¬
pressed with the awful spectacle that seemed to be the
opening scene in the drama of the destruction of the world.”
As the phenomenon was so extensive and so long continued,
its effect on the people was memorable.

A planter of South Carolina thus narrates the effect of
the phenomenon on the minds of the ignorant blacks : “I
was suddenly awakened by the most distressing cries that
ever fell on my ears. Shrieks of horror and cries for
mercy I could hear from most of the negroes of the three
plantations, amounting in all to about 600 or 800. While
earnestly listening for the cause I heard a faint voice near
the door, calling my name. I arose, and, taking my sword,
stood at the door. At this moment I heard the same voice
still beseeching me to rise, and saying, ‘O my God, the
world is on fire !’ I then opened the door, and it is difficult
to say which excited me the most, the awfulness of the
scene, or the distressed cries of the negroes. Upwards of
100 lay prostrate on the ground, some speechless, and some
with the bitterest cries, but with their hands raised, implor¬
ing God to save the world and them. The scene was truly
awful ; for never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors

1833

Chambers,

760-765

356

SIVAIN GOVERNOR

N ovember,
1833

Swain’s

message

fell towards the earth; east, west, north and south, it was
the same.”

When the Assembly met William D. Moseley of Lenoir
and William J. Alexander of Mecklenburg were chosen
speakers. There was naturally interest felt in what Gov¬
ernor Swain in the freshness of young manhood was going
to say about public matters. Nearly every other state was
passing resolutions relating to Federal matters and the
Governor transmitted them to the Assembly, but he con¬
fined himself exclusively to State concerns. While our
predecessors, said he, “were anxiously disposed to advance
the improvement of the State by providing facilities for
trade, increasing our agricultural productions, diffusing the
advantages of education and adapting our laws to the im¬
proved condition of society, little had been accomplished
compared with what the excited hopes and expectations de¬
manded. The apathy has. been most strikingly exhibited by
the fact that the expenses of the General Assembly have ex¬
ceeded the aggregate of all other expenditures.” He referred
to the excitement pervading every section of the State on in¬
ternal improvements ; and the demand for contributions
from the public treasury. He urged that the efforts to
improve transportation had not been without its value.
“When it is recollected that in 1818 we were inexperienced,
that several works were begun simultaneously, that the im¬
provements began at the sources of the rivers instead of
at their mouths, and other mistakes, the result was not
discouraging. The introduction of the railroad system is
a new era. My own opinion is that the great channels of
intercommunication demand the exclusive attention and
patronage of the government, local roads can be left to
those interested, aided by a uniform State subscription to
each project.” He urged State action for progress in all
lines ; and particularly he asked attention to the system of
taxation. “No income tax, only taxes on land and the poll,
and these evaded.” He wanted a new leaf turned over in
every line.

And indeed it was time, for while under the act of 1819,
which was still in operation, the owner was to list his land

DEPRECIATION OF LAND VALUES

35 7

at its value but at not less than the value affixed by the as¬
sessors under the act of Congress in 1815, yet the Treas¬
urer’s report showed that although the valuation ought to
have been at least 56 millions, in 1833 it was only 43 mil¬
lions, 13 millions less than in 1815. The average value had
fallen from $2.69 to $2.27. In every county, except one or
two, the value had decreased. In Edgecombe, Jones, Pitt,
Bertie and Craven, its value was only one-fourth of what
it was in 1815. The picture presented is fearful to con¬
template. Indeed the land valuation had been gradually
diminishing ever since 1820. For State purposes the land
tax was six cents, and the average tax for county purposes
was 26 cents, and the poll 60 cents.

A few days later he transmitted the result of the voting
in the counties that voted on the question of a convention,
“showing that the people of the western counties had the
matter much at heart ; and he cherished the hope that the
Assembly would act favorably on the proposition.” In
thirty counties the people had voted, casting 29,505 votes
for a convention, none, to the contrary. Quickly after the
members were in their seats, Irving of Rutherford moved
in the House for a joint select committee to consider
amendments to the Constitution. Both Houses agreed to it.-
Then on December 16, Irvine from that committee reported
a bill to submit certain amendments to the people : but when
an effort was made to take the bill up, the House refused
by 79 to 46.

At every session since Yancey’s death an effort had been
made to establish a new county at the west to be named
Yancey, but it had ever failed. However, on December 9,
1833, the bill passed the Senate by 33 to 28; among the 33
being Otway Burns. Coming up in the House five days
later, Charles W. Nixon, member from Chowan, moved to
amend it by adding an additional section establishing the
county of Roanoke, beginning at the mouth of Alligator
Creek running south twenty-five miles, then southeast to the
ocean, and north along the seaboard to Kill-Devil Hill,
then west to Alligator River ; which, however, received only
49 votes. Then Mr. Potts of Halifax moved to give that

Depreciation

At the east

Convention

vote

House
Journal,
1883, p. 149

Ibid., 197

358

SWAIN GOVERNOR

1833

Yancey

County

Internal

Improve¬

ment

Convention

Railroad

charters

No State
aid

territory proposed to be embraced in Yancey County more
convenient administration of justice but without representa¬
tion: this also without avail. The bill then passed 67 to 63.
Thus at length in the closing days of 1833, the west finally
obtained the desired county and the county seat was named
Burnsville.

While the Assembly was in session, the adjourned Inter¬
nal Improvement Convention met in the Government House.
It prepared a memorial to the Legislature embodying its
views and recommendations: and the Assembly in joint
session received the convention, and appointed a special
committee to consider the memorial. But as yet the Legis¬
lature was not ready to lay taxes, or to borrow money for
such enterprises ; and many charters were granted, without
carrying State aid. Some of the proposed roads were of
general interest, but others were merely of local advantage ;
such as the Lumber River and Cape Fear Railroad, the
Whiteville, Waccamaw and Cape Fear Canal and Railroad
Company, the Campbellton and Fayetteville, the Halifax
and Weldon. But there were charters for the Greenville
and Roanoke Railroad Company ; the Roanoke and Raleigh
to connect with either Weldon or Halifax ; the Wilmington
and Raleigh ; the North Carolina Center and Seaport Rail¬
road to connect Raleigh with Beaufort Harbor; the Roan¬
oke and Yadkin Valley Railroad to run from Blakely or
Weldon to some point on the Yadkin, and the Cape Fear,
Yadkin and Pee Dee, which was one of the enterprises of
most interest. This road was to go from Fayetteville to
the narrows of the Yadkin, and then along the lower
courses of the river to the mouth of Rocky River, and then
to penetrate Mecklenburg and Lincoln counties ; while an ¬
other branch was to go to Asheboro and then on westward.

The system that would have been established had these
roads been built would have been of great benefit to the
State ; but they were to have been constructed by private sub¬
scription alone, except the State was willing to bear the
expense of the survey of some. To none did the Legis¬
lature ofifer any aid, but it authorized a lottery to raise

ACADEMIES BY THE DOZEN

359

$50,000 to be vested in stock in the Cape Fear and Yadkin
and Pee Dee Railroad.

The Attorney-General, Romulus M. Saunders, having
accepted an appointment from the President as Commis¬
sioner under the act of Congress for carrying into execution
the convention between France and the United States, some
thought such an employment vacated his office as Attorney-
General, and a resolution to that effect was adopted by the
House ; whereupon Saunders resigned as Attorney-General,
and John R. J. Daniel of Halifax replaced him.

Originally, on the destruction of the Capitol, the Presbyte¬
rian congregation had offered its church building and ses¬
sion room for the use of the Legislature, but the Govern¬
ment House having been already prepared for the Legis¬
lature by Governor Stokes the offer was not accepted; but
now in December, 1833, a committee was raised to consider
the question.

Banks

Despite the hostility to banks, when the time came to
wind up the existing banks, they were all either rechartered
or replaced by other similar institutions. At the session of
1833 acts were passed to recharter the Bank of Cape Fear,
to establish the Merchants Bank at New Bern, and the Al¬
bemarle Bank at Edenton ; and to establish “The Bank of the
State of North Carolina.” The people were to have all the
currency they needed.

Academies

There were more than a dozen academies incorporated at
this session: among them, the New Garden School; the
Greensboro Academy and Manual Labor School ; the liter¬
ary and manual labor institution in the county of Wake,
known as “The Wake Forest Institute.” Manual labor
schools were much in vogue in other states, and there were
several in North Carolina.

Moses Griffin of New Bern having devised property to
Edward Graham and William Gaston and others to estab-

1833

360

SWAIN GOVERNOR

Appropri¬
ation for
Capitol

Senate
Journal, 114

House
Journal, 253

lish a free school at New Bern, the devisees were declared
trustees and were incorporated as such to establish the
“Griffin Free School.”

Levi, Silliman Ives, Jarvis Baxton, Duncan Cameron,
Thomas Ruffin, George E. Badger and others were incor¬
porated as trustees of “The Episcopal School of North
Carolina,” and a boys’ school known as “St. Mary’s” was
started by them in the suburbs of Raleigh.

The act making an appropriation of $50,000 for rebuild¬
ing the Capitol directed that “the general plan shall be the
same as the former building, and the lowrer story at least
shall be of stone.” When the commissioners began the
work, Mrs. Polk’s experimental railway was ready for use ;
and the commissioners made a stone foundation that was so
substantial and costly that at the next session an additional
$75,000 was allowed for the construction.

The west again disappointed

On January 10, 1834, there was introduced in the Senate
a bill from the select committee to provide for ascertaining
the sense of the people relative to a convention. It passed
the first reading 32 to 29.

An amendment was offered to strike out the clause that
provided for taking the sense of the people on amending
the 32d section of the Constitution, prescribing qualifica¬
tions for office. The proposed amendment was rejected.
Mr. Mendenhall moved to amend by striking out the clause
that future General Assemblies shall not abolish slavery.
That was lost 16 to 44. The bill having passed the Senate
31 to 30, was indefinitely postponed in the House by 64 to
59. It proposed to submit certain amendments of the Con¬
stitution to the people. Its failure wras a great blow to
the western members who were defeated at all points, save
alone in the formation of Yancey County.

Judge Gaston

In August, 1833, Chief Justice Leonard Henderson hav¬
ing died, the State mourned his loss as one of the strongest

The State Capitol. Begun in 1833; completed in 1840

GASTON ON THE BENCH

361

and purest jurists that had adorned the bench; to succeed
him as Chief Justice, the members of the court chose Judge
Ruffin; and to fill the vacancy on the bench all eyes were
turned to William Gaston,* who while he felt no scruples
because lie was a Catholic, conferred with others before he
concluded to allow his name to be used.

On November 28, he was elected by the Assembly on the
first ballot without serious opposition. He perhaps de¬
serves to rank as the first among the distinguished men born
in the State. His manner, at that period, was grave, cour¬
teous and unostentatious. He was affable with dignity and
companionable without familiarity.

Among the earlier opinions he filed was that for the court
in the case of State v. Will, a slave, who was convicted of
murder for slaying his overseer. A special verdict had been
found which showed great provocation and cruelty on the
part of the overseer. Judge Gaston said: “In the absence
then of all precedent directly in point, or strikingly anal¬
ogous, the question recurs, if the passion of the slave be
excited into unlawful violence by the inhumanity of the
master or temporary owner or one clothed with the owner’s
authority, is it a conclusion of law that such passion must
spring from diabolical malice? Unless I see my way clear
as a sunbeam, I cannot believe that this is the law of a civ- Reports’ 121
ilized people and of a Christian land. But the appeal here
is to the common law which declares passion, not transcend¬
ing all reasonable limits, to be distinct from malice. The
prisoner is a human being, degraded, indeed, by slavery,
but yet having ‘organs, senses, affections, passions like our
own.’ ”

In the case of State v. Hoover the court sustained a ver¬
dict of murder against a master for killing a slave. In
State v. Manuel Gaston said: “Slaves manumitted become

*In 1829 Ruffin had been appointed to the court, and in 1832, J. J. Daniel.

In August 1833, Chief Justice Henderson died and Gaston was, in Novem¬
ber, elected to the vacant place in the court. The practice was for the
Justices to select their Chief Justice; so a question arose who should be the
Chief Justice. When the court met in December, Ruffin insisted that
Gaston should be, and Gaston insisted that Ruffin should be; and Daniel
declared he would not choose between them. So Ruffin and Gaston tossed
up a coin, and Gaston had his way: Ruffin became Chief Justice. So Judge
Gaston wrote to Judge Story of Massachusetts.

362

SWAIN GOVERNOR

freemen and, therefore, if born within North Carolina are
citizens of North Carolina, and all free persons born within
20 n. c. the State are born citizens of the State." These and simj-

Reports, 44 jar 0pini0ns of the Supreme Court at once attest the sense
of justice that animated its members, and are evidence of the
humane sentiments that pervaded the people of the State.
That it was not until 1834 that the question involved in
Will’s case was presented to the court, illustrates the general
management of the slaves, while the conviction of a master
for murder in killing his slave is equally suggestive. While
these decisions of the court were not questioned, being in
accord with the enlightened sentiments of the people, yet it
was fortunate that it fell to Judge Gaston’s lot to elucidate
the principles on which they rested. Instead of his losing
popularity, he became more popular than ever, and was
later asked to represent the State in the United States Sen¬
ate, but he declined to allow his name to be brought for¬
ward, saying that he preferred to continue in a judicial
career. ■ ' i

CHAPTER XXIII

The Convention

Jackson forbids deposits in Bank of United States. — Panic en¬
sues. — The Senate censures the President. — Benton moves to ex¬
punge. — The people divide. — Mangum leaves Jackson. — Gales
turns Whig; and retires. — Succeeded by Weston Gales. — Philo
White publishes the Standard. — iStwain urges revision of Consti¬
tution, a division by Congress of public lands, and internal im¬
provement and schools, and to arrest emigration. — First move¬
ment for a railroad. — Whitfield to have steamboats on Neuse. —
The Legislature instructs Senators to expunge. — A limited con¬
vention proposed for the people to call. — The west prevails. —
The sectional vote. — The delegates. — Convention sits in the Pres¬
byterian Church. — Borough representation abolished. — Suffrage
confined to whites. — Representation in the Assembly. — The de¬
bate. — The cause of emigration. — Gaston’s speech. — The final out¬
come. — The east loses 35 members. — Term of office fixed at two
years. — The religious test. — Speeches of Gaston and Toomer. —
The election of Governor. — Convention adjourns. — The- sectional
vote on ratification. — Death of Polk, Ashe, Caldwell. — Swain
president of University. — Taney, Chief Justice. — Spaight, Gov¬
ernor. — Governor Swain’s final message. — The amendments
adopted. — Election of Governor provided for. — Railroad charters.
— Steamboats for Pamlico River. — Gold mining companies. — The
frost year.

At Washington

President Jackson thought that the Bank of the United
States had sought to prevent his election, and that it was
using its power in making loans to secure an extension of
its charter. It had twenty-five branch banks throughout the
states, and could exert a potent influence. Jackson took
strong ground against the bank. In May, 1833, he aP"
pointed R. B. Taney to be Secretary of the Treasury, the
only officer who, under the law of Congress, could divert
public moneys when collected from being deposited in the
vaults of that bank. In September, Taney made an order
that no more collections should be deposited in that bank.
Immediately, the bank began to call in its loans, thus creat¬
ing a demand for currency, and this soon led to a panic.

Deposits in
Bank of
U. S. for¬
bidden

364

THE CONVENTION

1834

The Senate
censures

Jackson

men

dominant

Gales

adverse

The friends of the bank attributed the situation to the
President.

At the election a majority of the Representatives chosen
were supporters of Jackson, but the Senate was of a differ¬
ent complexion. There the bank had the most friends. On
March 28, 1834, after much discussion and agitation, the
Senate adopted a resolution censuring the President for his
action. It was a novel performance. Immediately, Sena¬
tor Benton offered a motion to expunge that resolution from
the record of Senate proceedings; but the majority of the
Senate were of a different mind. The matter remained
open. The country took up the controversy, which entered
into politics. The friends of Jackson demanded that the
Senate should reverse itself. Senator Brown had stood by
the President, but Mangum sustained the vote of censure.
Elected as a supporter of Jackson, Mangum cast his for¬
tunes with the opposition, now beginning to be known as
“Whigs.”-

When- the Assembly met, the same officers were reelected.
One of the first matters of interest was the election of a
Senator to succeed Bedford Brown. On the proposition to
go into the election, much opposition was manifested. In
the House while 73 favored it, 54 were opposed; and so in
the Senate the vote stood 33 to 28. Then filibustering set
in, but the majority soon carried their point and on No¬
vember 20, Brown was reelected. The Jackson supporters
were dominant.

When the Governor was to be chosen, W. D. Moseley, the
Speaker of the Senate, was brought forward against Gov¬
ernor Swain and at first there was no choice, but the next
day, Swain was continued in office as Governor.

Joseph Gales, who had been a leading Democrat for so
many years, never was an adherent of Jackson, and now
went with Mangum to the Whig opposition. However,
he soon left the sanctum, his son, Weston R. Gales, taking
his place as editor of the Register. But his influence con¬
tinued, for he had years before purchased an interest in the
National Intelligencer at Washington, conducted by his
son, Joseph, and his son-in-law, W. W. Seaton, which was

IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS

365

considered the most important of all the newspapers of the
country. Mr. Gales, upon his retirement, resided in
Washington.

At this session, Philo White, a man of culture and at¬
tainments, who had for some years been a Democratic
editor and was publishing the Standard at Raleigh, was
elected public printer.

Swain’s recommendations

In his message Governor Swain said that the matter of
first importance was to amend the State Constitution. It
was first introduced in 1787 and for half a century has con¬
tinued to command public attention. He urged its revision.
He advocated that the public domain should be divided out
among the states by Congress, thus giving North Carolina
a fund for the prosecution of internal improvements and for
schools. He again adverted to the subject of emigration,
saying: “The continually increasing current of emigration,
which is depriving us of many of our most intelligent and
enterprising citizens and a large portion of our wealth,
particularly in the section of the State regarded as the most
populous, imparts to this subject a powerful interest; and
he urged action to overcome the disadvantages that beset
the prosperity of the State. The Legislature having au¬
thorized the appointment of commissioners to revise the
statutes, he had appointed William H. Battle, Gavin Hogg
and James Iredell. In the Senate there was some response
to the Governor’s recommendation for internal improve¬
ments and the first movement towards State aid for a rail¬
road was made on December 17, 1834. On motion of Mr.
Montgomery of Orange, the committee on Internal Im¬
provements was directed to inquire into the expediency of
building a railroad from the seaboard to Raleigh and thence
to the Yadkin, the State to take two-fifths of the stock, but
the Assembly was not ready for such expenditures.

To promote water transportation, Needham Whitfield was
vested with the exclusive right, for fifteen years, to navi¬
gate with steamboats the Neuse from New Bern up as far

The

Standard

The

Assembly

366

THE CONVENTION

1834

Mangum

instructed

as the boats could ascend. At that session, the Halifax and
Weldon road not having been then begun, three more years
were allowed for its construction.

Governor Swain had ignored Federal matters, but the
Jackson men were not so complacent. On November 28,
Mr. Potts of Edgecombe introduced a resolution declar¬
ing the right of the Assembly to instruct Senators and in¬
structing Senator Mangum to vote to expunge from the
record of the Senate the resolution censuring President
Jackson which Mangum had voted for. For a week the
resolution was not considered, and then for a week it was
daily discussed, the opposition filibustering against it ; but
eventually on December 11, it passed the House by 69 to 57.
Sent to the Senate, there was a protracted filibuster against
the resolution. The Assembly had agreed to adjourn
over on Christmas Day, but at fifteen minutes after 12:30
a.m., December 25, the hundredth motion to adjourn was
voted down, and the Senate continued in session. Then
Senator Owen Holmes of New Hanover, a leader favoring
the resolution, allowed an adjournment. Finally two days
later, the Senate passed the resolution by 33 to 28.

The Convention called

Late in the session, December 27, when the members
were thinking of final adjournment, Kittrell of Anson, to
whose committee had been referred a bill for a convention,
reported a substitute. The substitute was agreed to 68 to
61. Then there were various amendments. As there was
no provision in the Constitution for amending that instru¬
ment or for calling a convention, it was considered that
only the people themselves could take legal action, so the
question whether there should be a convention or not was
first to be submitted to a popular vote. Then the character
of the convention was considered, whether it was to be
limited to amending certain specific articles, or could abro¬
gate the existing Constitution in whole. The bill was so
cast as to confine the changes to particular subjects and
articles. There was much diversity of opinion ; but eventu¬
ally at a meeting of leaders in their rooms, the form and

CONVENTION CALLED

367

scope of the bill was so adjusted that it would receive
support from some of the eastern members. On December
31, it passed the House by 66 to 62. In the Senate, it was
amended, and passed January 3 by 31 to 30.

On January 5, the House concurred in the Senate amend¬
ments, and at last the long waiting of the west was over.
For fifty years there had been a desire and purpose to amend
the Constitution, often strongly manifested, and now the
victory was won, the way was clear.

The Convention

The act submitting the question of a convention to the
people provided the machinery for taking the sense of the
white voters on that question. The election was to be held
at the usual voting precincts on the 1st and 2d days of
April ; the sheriffs were to make returns to the Governor,
“who, if a majority of the votes favor a convention, shall
issue a writ for holding an election for delegates. Every
county to elect two delegates, and no more ; delegates to
convene in Raleigh on the first Thursday of June; the
delegates to take an oath to observe the limitations speci¬
fied in the act.”

At last the west had accomplished its purpose. The first
step had been taken towards reforming the Constitution.
Under existing conditions the eastern counties with a
minority of the population had a preponderance in the As¬
sembly, the State being a sort of a confederation of coun¬
ties, each with equal representation : and the system was a
representative republic, all the chief offices being elected
by the Assembly. Now it was proposed to give more voice
to the popular will and to base representation on population.

The vote cast was 49,244, of which 27,550 were for the
convention and 21,695 were against it. And, as illustrating
how closely political action is allied with local interest, the
east was so solidly against the measure and the west so
solidly for it that in some of the eastern counties only four
or five voted for it, and in some of the western counties
only one or two votes were given against it. By the census
of 1830, there was in the State 97,633 white males twenty

1885

Sectional

vote

368

THE CONVENTION

1835

Convention

debates

The organ¬
ization

years of age and upwards ; and this vote also indicates that
on grave constitutional questions popular interest is so lack¬
ing that one-half of the voters took no part in the elections.
Yet that was the largest vote ever cast in the State except in
the hotly contested presidential election of 1828, when the
aggregate vote was 51,776.

When the election for delegates was held many of the
best men in the State were chosen. Among them were Nat
Macon and Weldon N. Edwards, sent by Warren, William
Gaston and Richard D. Spaight from Craven; David Out¬
law from Bertie, Governor John Owen, Bladen ; Dr. Fred¬
erick J. Hill, Brunswick; Judge Toomer, Cumberland;
Louis D. Wilson, Edgecombe; Jesse Spaight, Greene;
Governor John Branch, Halifax; Kenneth Rayner, Hert¬
ford ; Asa Biggs, Martin ; Alfred Dockery, Richmond ;
William B. Meares, Sampson; Joseph J. Daniel, Halifax;
Riddick Gatling, Gates ; and Owen Holmes of New Hano¬
ver, Governor Swain, Buncombe ; M. Barringer, Cabar¬
rus ; Calvin Graves, Caswell ; Hugh McQueen, Chatham,
John M. Morehead, Guilford ; Bartlett Shipp, Lincoln ; Ed¬
ward T. Broadnax, Rockingham, Charles Fisher, Rowan ;
Jos. McD. Carson, Rutherford; Meshack Franklin, Surry;
Henry Seawell, Wake, Edmund Jones and James Well¬
born from Wilkes.

The delegates assembled on June 4 in a room in the Gov¬
ernor’s mansion, but before the day was over a committee
of which Governor Swain was chairman, was appointed to
find a more convenient place of meeting.

The next day the Governor reported that the officers of
the Methodist and Presbyterian churches had both tendered
the use of their buildings. It was resolved to accept the
offer of the Presbyterians ; and the next morning the con¬
vention met in the Presbyterian Church. The members
having been sworn in, the venerable Nathaniel Macon was
unanimously chosen to preside, and Edmund B. Freeman
was elected clerk.

Judge Gaston from the committee appointed to report on
taking up the business of the convention, reported that

BOROUGH REPRESENTATION

369

nineteen committees should be appointed, each to consider
some separate business.

There was diversity of opinion on every material matter.
Among- the first questions determined was as to the abolish¬
ment of borough representation. It was generally admitted
that there was no reason for retaining it except as to the
commercial towns, New Bern, Edenton, Wilmington and
Fayetteville. Governor Swain urged that the convention
was due to the votes of these towns in the Assembly, and
he appealed for the retention of the borough system. After
full debate, eventually, the vote against any exception was
103 to 23.

The most interesting question was as to depriving free
negroes of the right of suffrage. The debate on this ex¬
plored the whole subject of the condition of the African
race in the South. It was said that not only had free
negroes never voted before the Revolutionary War, but
that for years afterwards they did not vote : that they were
not citizens. The convention seemed to be about evenly
divided in opinion. John M. Morehead offered an amend¬
ment allowing those negroes to vote who possessed a free¬
hold of one hundred dollars; but the convention rejected
this by a vote of 63 to 62; and then by a vote of 66 to 61,
it abrogated in toto the right of free colored persons to vote.
Suffrage was to be confined to the whites.

When the subject of fixing the number of members of
the different houses was reached, much feeling was evoked.
Originally this, as all the other subjects, had been referred
to a committee of thirteen ; but later its membership was
increased to twenty-six. Governor Swain, chairman of the
committee, reported that the Senate should be composed of
50 members and the House of 120, the greatest numbers
specified in the act providing for the convention. The limits
imposed by the Legislature, being the compromise reached
leading to the passage of the act, were for the Senate not
less than 34 nor more than 50, and for the House not less
than 90 nor more than 120; and it was generally considered
that the convention should regard the proportion between
these suggested numbers ; and that in awarding member-
24 *

The

boroughs

Free

negroes

Represen¬

tation

370

THE CONVENTION

Wellborn

Macon

Spaight

ship to the senatorial districts regard should be given to
property; and that representation in the House should be
according to the Federal population, counting negroes at
three-fifths. The committee of 26 reported in favor of the
greatest number in each house ; but there was great diver¬
sity of opinion as to the basic number. There was also
great controversy over the incidental question as to whether
borough representation should be retained.

The compromise made in the Assembly by which the act
providing for the convention was passed was strongly urged
by those who wanted no radical change. Wellborn from
Wilkes said fifty years earlier he had brought the subject
of a reform of the Constitution before the Legislature and
it had been constantly agitated ever since. “We have asked
them for appropriations to make highways and railroads and
what has been their answer ? They said nature had sup¬
plied us (them) with the means of reaching a good market,
and we will not be taxed for your benefit. If the west had
been in power the Central Railroad from Beaufort to the
mountains would have long since been completed. The
Cape Fear and Yadkin would have been united; a vigorous
system of internal improvement would have been carried
into successful operation. . . . No wonder when a

North Carolinian goes from home he is ashamed to own
the place of his nativity.”

Macon said he “disapproved of any plan of internal im¬
provements in which the government was to take a part.
All improvements of this kind ought to be the work of in¬
dividuals.”

Spaight replying to Wellborn asked: “In what respect
had the State been degraded? He had always felt proud
of being a North Carolinian. Look at our judiciary, our
laws, at our University which stands on a footing equal to
any other institution in our sister states. As to the great
emigrations, they are equally as great for South Carolina.
The cause was the sales of our public lands ; make all the
internal improvements you choose, it will have no effect on
emigration while the land sales continue.”

LOSS BY EMIGRATION

37i

Wilson of Perquimans in the course of a very lengthy
address said that it was erroneous to think of North Caro¬
lina as degraded. He had been through Virginia, and if
“that State were in a more thriving condition than North
Carolina the evidences of it are not to be discovered. Take
the whole State, and the superiority is ours. The gentleman
for Wilkes thinks if a railroad were constructed to the west
the mountains would be converted into rich fields and
blooming gardens. He would be sorely disappointed ; nine-
tenths of their land is exhausted and not worth cultivating,
contrasted with thousands of acres annually brought into
the market in the southwestern states. Gain is the principle
that prompts men to action; and as long as the western
lands are kept in the market it is impossible to check the
tide of emigration.”

Spaight of Greene, in an elaborate speech, made similar
and even stronger statements. “South Carolina lost by
emigration even more than North Carolina.”

Gaston, in the course of a great adress, said : “An
omission to settle this question (of representation) now, in
such a manner as to tranquilize the public mind,” he should
regard as no ordinary calamity. He did not, however,
“anticipate, in that event, the result predicted by the gentle¬
man from Buncombe (Governor Swain). That gentleman
in earnest language had predicted that if a satisfactory ar¬
rangement were not now made, the people of the west would
rise like the strong man, in his unshorn might, and pull
down the entire political edifice. Sir, the strong man of Zorah,
bowing down with all his might, tugged at massy pillars
till he buried all beneath one hideous ruin. It was a glorious
deed. Should our friends in the west in a moment of pas¬
sion overthrow the existing Constitution, the mad triumph
will be a triumph over order and law, over themselves, their
friends, their country.

“There was much in North Carolina to respect and love.
In no land was justice administered with greater purity,
and in no state in the Union was there less of violence, and
malevolence and corruption of faction. But much, very
much could be done for the improvement of her physical

Wilson

Emigration

Gaston

Samson

feat

Conditions

372

THE CONVENTION

1835

Convention
debates, 120

Represen

tation

Term of
office

Religious

test

condition.” He hailed with delight the institutions spring¬
ing up in various parts of the country for the instruction
of youth ; but there was need for united efforts to accom¬
plish the intellectual and moral advancement of the State.
He closed with an earnest appeal for the education of the
poor and humble.

Spaight said : “What had principally prevented internal
improvements from being successful is, we have constantly
attempted to do too much. In the Legislature there was
not only an eastern and western interest, but there was a
Roanoke, a Cape Fear and a Neuse interest; and the result
had been to prevent anything being effectually done.”

After much hot debate, the membership in the Senate
was fixed at fifty, and then followed for several days a con¬
test over that for the House ; but again the committee was
sustained by a vote of 76 to 52.

Later, when the subject of apportioning the membership
was reached, borough representation was negatived ; and a
particular proposition to give borough representation to
New Bern, Wilmington and Fayetteville was rejected by
74 noes to 47 ayes.

The convention now threw the counties into fifty districts,
each entitled to elect a Senator, two of the small counties
being embraced in a district, which deprived the east of
ten Senators.

Lincoln and Orange were allowed four members : of
twelve counties awarded three members only one, Halifax,
was in the east ; of the twenty-six counties with a single
member, six were of the west and twenty of the east ; while
by abolishing borough representation the east lost five. Al¬
together the east lost thirty-five members of the Assembly.
The term of office of the Governor, members of Assembly
and State officers was fixed at two years, and there were to
be biennial sessions of the Legislature.

At length, on June 26, at the end of three weeks, the
question of amending the 32b section applying a religious
test for office came up. The debate on that subject was a
most notable one. There were those who considered that
the popular feeling against any modification of that section

CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION

373

would endanger the acceptance of the other changes in
the Constitution, but generally there prevailed a liberal
spirit in regard to it. Judge Gaston, a Catholic, made one
of his greatest addresses. He sought to show that the pro¬
hibition did not extend to a Catholic : and he said such was
the opinion of the best legal advisers in and out of the State.
That personally he would be indifferent, but as a citizen he
hoped that the section would be modified. His speech for
its fullness, learning and eloquence remains an honor to the
State.

Judge Toomer’s speech also was noteworthy. He de¬
clared that the prohibition of the sections had ever been a
dead letter; that Caswell, the president of the convention
that adopted it, had been considered a Catholic, his parents
being Catholics; that neither Jew, nor atheist nor Catholic
had ever been denied office because of the section.

It was proposed to substitute the word “Christian” for
“Protestant,” and eventually the motion was adopted by 74
to 51.

When the proposition to elect the Governor by the people
every two years was reached, Gaston and some others stren¬
uously opposed it. The Governor had only administrative
powers and duties ; the change would introduce ferment
and faction. No state was more free from such evils than
North Carolina. In reply, Wellborn asked: “How was
it that our State had been called ‘Poor old North Carolina’?
It was because we had done nothing to improve our ad¬
vantages. We need great improvements, and the time is
near at hand when we will make them.” The report of the
committee was adopted by a vote of 74 to 44. Eventually,
when all the proposed changes had been formulated, on the
final question of submitting them to the people, the vote
stood 81 to 20.

Before adjournment Gaston offered a resolution tendering
thanks and appreciation to the venerable President. Macon
feelingly responded. At the close, he said : “While my
life is spared, if any of you should pass through the county
in which I live, I shall be glad to see you.” When the ap¬
plause had ceased Carson rose and mentioned that he was

Toomer

Convention
Journal, 331

Governor
elected by
people

374

THE CONVENTION

1835

University

languishing

about to leave North Carolina to reside in the west, and he
would ever be happy to see any friend from North Carolina.

The convention having completed its work on July n
adjourned, and the proposed amendments being submitted
to the people were ratified, the vote being 26,771 in favor
and 21,606 against; a majority of 5,166. In Brunswick not
a vote was cast for ratification ; in Tyrrell 1 ; in Hyde 2 ; and
so on. In Burke one vote was for rejection; in Ruther¬
ford 2; in Surry 4; in Haywood and Wilkes 8; and so on.
But generally the east was more liberal than the west, and
the western voters were more numerous than those of the
east.

Swain President of University

On January 14, 1834, Col. William Polk, the surviving
field officer of the N. C. Continentals, passed away. Be¬
cause of his shining virtues and sterling worth, his eminence
in patriotic work and his charming personality, he was an
ornament to society, respected and revered, and his loss was
mourned throughout the State.

A year later, in 1835, there died at Fayetteville, Samuel
Ashe of New Hanover, doubtless the last surviving officer
of our Continentals. Of him George Davis, in his Uni¬
versity address twenty years later, said in an eloquent and
striking eulogy: “He was the last of all the Romans. ”

On the 27th of January, 1835, Dr. Caldwell, the president
of the University, died. He had been at its head for nearly
forty years. He was one of the best scholars and teachers
in the State. He had seen the number of matriculates rise
to 173 in 1823, but then from various causes it had fallen
to 100. The University was languishing.

On Dr. Caldwell’s death, Dr. Mitchell acted temporarily
as president. On the 20th of June, twenty-nine trustees
met and sought to secure a president. Governor Swain’s
term of office was expiring, and he desired the position.
Judge Cameron approved, and the trustees generally agreed.
He had many of the desired qualifications although he was
lacking in fine scholarship. He entered at once on his
duties and made a most successful president of the Uni-

SPAIGHT ELECTED GOVERNOR

375

versity. There were only 89 matriculates in 1835 ; in 1837,
142; and 1838, 164; and still year by year the number
increased.

Just as the convention adjourned, Chief Justice Marshall,
who had held the circuit court at Raleigh for a generation,
and was so highly esteemed that his presence was always a
beneficial influence, died at Philadelphia. Many of the pub¬
lic men of the State hoped that Gaston would be appointed
by the President as his successor, but the Attorney-General,
Taney, was selected.

The last Assembly under old system

When the Assembly met, Moseley was reelected Speaker
of the Senate, and W. H. Haywood was taken in the House.

The returns of the voting on the amendments to the Con¬
stitution had not been officially compiled, but doubtless it
was known that they had been adopted and that this would
• be the last Assembly under the old system. The Democrats
having a majority, Richard D. Spaight was elected Gov¬
ernor over his opponent, the great Cape Fear lawyer, Wil¬
liam B. Meares.

Governor Swain’s final message was full on the ordinary
topics that engaged attention. Particularly he inveighed
against the propaganda of the abolitionists, deplored the
continued exodus and urged local improvements. He said :
“In much the larger portion of the State the past year has
been a season of more than ordinary prosperity. The pro¬
duction of articles necessary- for the sustenance of human
life has been abundant and our great agricultural staple
has commanded a higher price than has been known in
many years. Our citizens always distinguished for pru¬
dence and economy are at present probably less involved in
pecuniary difficulties than at any previous time of our
history.” However, “the tide of emigration,” said the Gov¬
ernor, “continues to flow in a copious and steady current
to the new states and territories.” And he adverted to the
absence of educational facilities and of internal improve-

Death of
Marshall

376

THE CONVENTION

The day of
the change

Elections
provided for

Railroads

ments as causes swelling the emigration and giving other
states advantages of North Carolina.

On December 4, the Governor transmitted the result of
the voting on the amendments showing their adoption ; and
made his proclamation that the changes in the Constitution
would be in effect on January 1, 1836. Governor Swain,
still a young man, had the satisfaction of feeling that he
had borne a chief part in bringing about these changes in
the Constitution of the State which the western people had
so much at heart as possibly leading to the material ad¬
vantage of that section of the State. He had exhibited
a capacity for securing results that singled him out as one
of the most influential men of his generation.

Under the changed Constitution, the Legislature now had
to provide for the election of a Governor and of Assembly-
men. The sheriffs were directed to open the polls in their
several precincts for the election, on the same day in 1836,
as for the Assembly theretofore, and biennially thereafter ;
and make their returns for Governor to the Secretary of
State who was to deliver them to the Speaker of the Senate.

The Legislature incorporated the Raleigh and Gaston
Railroad Company, but did not subscribe for stock. It
also incorporated the Raleigh and Fayetteville Railroad, and
a road from Milton to Salisbury. The charter of the Wil¬
mington and Raleigh Company was amended to allow that
company to construct its road to meet the Petersburg and
Portsmouth roads at Roanoke River.

South Carolina and other states had chartered the Cin¬
cinnati and Charleston Railroad Company, and the Assem¬
bly passed an act of similar effect.

William Tannahill and Bryan Saunders were vested with
the privilege of running steamboats on the Pamlico and
Tar rivers for eighteen years. The Wilmington Marine
Hospital was incorporated. Eight academies were incor¬
porated including the Episcopal School at Raleigh, and
nine gold mining companies were chartered.

The Assembly also adopted strong resolutions on the
subject of the Abolitionists, whose activities knew no

COLD SUMMER

377

bounds and whose object was to excite the negroes to in¬
surrection and massacre.

The frost year

Notwithstanding the happy picture of conditions drawn
by the Governor it has been understood that the year 1835
was distinguished for its numerous frosts in the central part
of the State. A letter, written in June, 1835, by Wesley
Heartsfield of Wake County to his brother, who had moved
to Florida, says: “You requested me, in the first place,
to write you how I come on in the married state — and that I
will do with pleasure. I was married on the fifth of March,
and I had a very cold time of it, for there was at that time
three snows on the ground, one on the others ; but I did not
mind that ; the company was very agreeable at both places.
I have got a pretty, kind, decent, good-natured, obedient,
smart, pious, loving wife, and, of course, we get along
pretty well. The weather is cold enough this morning to
sit by a fire, and on the twenty-third of May we had a little
frost, but not to bite anything.

“I saw Mr. Wiggins the other day and he wishes you to
write him word whether or not you think he would be ben¬
efited in selling off and coming to that country.

“We have hard times here and worse are coming. Every¬
thing sells high. Corn sells at $4.50 and $5.00 per barrel.
Fodder and oats, $1.50 per hundred. Negroes are very
high indeed.”

A letter of 1923 from the Assistant Attorney-General,
Frank Nash, says : “There was an old man, and a very ex¬
cellent man, who lived in Orange County, named Holden.
He died some ten or twelve years ago upwards of ninety
years of age. When he was about sixty-five years of age
a horse ran away with him, threw him out of his buggy and
dislocated his neck, but as above said, he lived to be over
ninety years of age. At the time I saw him, his mind was
entirely clear and he told me that he recalled distinctly the
famous year in which crops were destroyed by excessive
cold. He said that he had a field of wheat just in bloom
when a freeze came the latter part of May and blasted it

1835

The women

378

THE CONVENTION

as though hot water had been poured upon it. His recol¬
lection was that the year was 1835.

“Dr. William Strudwick told me that his father told him
that there was only one month in that year in which there
was no frost and that was July. According to these ac¬
counts, the only crops raised that year were Irish potatoes
and corn, and the corn crop was very short.”

The Raleigh Register of February 10, 1835, said: “Sun¬
day last is thought to be the coldest day ever felt in this
latitude. At six o’clock in the morning, February 8, the
thermometer was one degree below zero. ... At Fay¬
etteville it was two degrees below.”

In its issue of August 23, 1830, the Register said: “The
weather destroyed or greatly damaged the crops, which
were burned up by heat and drought.” Such disasters to
crops were elements in the movement to other localities.

CHAPTER XXIV

Railroad Beginnings

General conditions. — Great land sales. — The public debt ex¬
tinguished. — Distribution of surplus among the states. — Van Bu-
ren and Hugh White nominated. — Dudley for Governor by the
Whigs. — The Raleigh and Gaston road. — The Wilmington road
goes to Weldon. — Dudley President. — Democrats nominate
Spaight. — Van Buren elected. — The Assembly against Mangum.
— Strange chosen. — Nash, Pearson and other new judges. — The
west jubilant. — Spaight’s message. — Stocks made personal prop¬
erty. — Surplus fund for schools. — Committee recommends invest¬
ing in railroad and bank stock. — Morehead opposed to Wilming¬
ton and Weldon road. — The fund invested. — County of Davie. —
Cherokee lands open for entry. — Lake Mattamuskeet to be drain¬
ed. — The Halifax road to be absorbed by the Wilmington. — The
Cape Fear and Yadkin to be extended. — Caldwell’s project. — New
projects. — The cotton manufacturing companies at Fayetteville,
Rocky Mount, Lexington, Yadkin, Randolph, Weldon, Cane
Creek, Milton, Salem. — Other incorporations. — Davidson College,
Wake Forest. — The silk craze. — The arsenals. — Chang-Eng. — The
financial crash. — Progress of railroad construction. — Conflicting
interests. — Wilmington seeks the trade of Greensboro. — Dudley
reelected. — His pronounced views. — To send our products
through our own ports. — The Internal Improvement Committee.
— Laid on table. — Aid given to roads. — Nags Head Inlet. — Com¬
mon schools established. — The expunging resolution. — The
Whigs avoid instructing. — The Senators do not at once resign.

General conditions

Jackson’s last year in the presidency had been full of
serious questions. In 1833, he had directed that no more
public moneys should be deposited in the United States
Bank, and thereafter they were deposited in State banks.

About that time an era of inflation and speculation set in.
The purchase of government lands largely exceeded all ex¬
pectations. Funds came in so rapidly that by January,
1836, the public debt was entirely extinguished and $25,-
000,000 had accumulated as a surplus. By June the sur¬
plus reached $40,000,000.

The great deposits in the State banks led to wild specula¬
tion, and as a remedy, Congress in June, 1836, passed an
act to distribute the unnecessary surplus among the states,
in four quarterly installments, beginning January 1, 1837.

1836

Surplus
to be

distributed

380

RAILROAD BEGINNINGS

The Whigs
organize

And to check the purchases, the President in July, directed
that payment for land, except in the case of actual settlers,
should be made in specie.

In May 1835, the supporters of the President held a con¬
vention in Baltimore and unanimously nominated Van Buren,
who was the Vice President, to succeed Jackson. For some
reasons Van Buren was not acceptable to all the former sup¬
porters of Jackson, while there was very strong opposition
to him by the Whigs. Although his nomination consoli¬
dated the Democrats of the North, it stimulated the Whigs
in the opposition.

When the Legislature adjourned, the Whig members had
a meeting and organized their party by appointing commit¬
tees in every county. A month later, the Raleigh Whigs
put up for President, Hugh L. White, a native of Iredell
County, who had had a highly honorable career in Tennes¬
see and in the Senate ; and for Governor, they selected
Edward B. Dudley of New Hanover, who was well known
as one of the champions of internal improvements.

The railroads

There had been a road chartered to run from Raleigh
to the Roanoke River, known as the Raleigh and Gaston.
The promoters of this route met at Raleigh on January 2
and large subscriptions being made, the company was or¬
ganized on February 4, the Whigs taking the lead; and
actual construction began in June. There was likewise a
proposition to build a road from Raleigh to Fayetteville,
and perhaps this may have determined Raleigh not to sub¬
scribe for the line to Wilmington. At any rate, the in¬
corporators of the Wilmington and Raleigh road meeting
with no substantial aid from Raleigh and having obtained an
amendment to their charter allowing the road to be built
to the Roanoke, now considered changing this route to
Weldon. On March 14, the company organized at Wil¬
mington, determined to go to Weldon, and elected Edward
B. Dudley president. Mr. Dudley was originally of On¬
slow County, but having come to Wilmington as a soldier
during the war of 1812, he remained there. His subscrip-

POLITICAL ISSUES

38i

tion to the railroad was $25,000 and that of Wilmington was 1836
correspondingly large. The Whigs had taken the initia¬
tive in these enterprises and they stood before the people
as the particular friends of internal improvements.

Meetings in the counties brought forward, naturally,
Governor Spaight as the Democratic candidate for Gov¬
ernor, and soon the Standard put up his name at the head
of its column. Similarly, Whig meetings brought out ^ fi
Edward B. Dudley and these became the contestants for contest
Governor at the first election by the voters of the State.

Great interest was aroused; and while the main issues dis¬
cussed were those growing out of Federal politics, yet Dud¬
ley representing active exertions in the cause of internal
improvements, offered some hope for the future. Such
were the conditions when the election came off in August,

1836.

The campaign turned largely on Jackson’s course in re¬
gard to the United States Bank and on the right of the As¬
sembly to instruct Senators. And as Mangum had appealed
to the people against the Assembly, an issue was made that
involved him particularly, and he had many friends, but
he had taken a stand against the Jackson administration, and
Jackson was near to the popular heart. The result of the
changes in the Constitution had been very distasteful to
the east, where apparently much bad blood was engendered ;
while at the west the reverse was evident. There many
counties that had before only two representatives now had
three, and the privilege of voting for the Governor imparted
a zeal before unknown. The scepter had. departed from
Israel ; the course of empire was to the west. Although the
Democrats stood faithfully to Spaight, yet Dudley was the
favorite, and in the fullest vote cast, 63,948, won over House
nis competitor, bor some reasons, the votes of three coun¬
ties were not embraced in the official returns. Dudley’s
majority was 4,043.

After his election, Dudley resigned as president of the
railroad, and was succeeded by General James Owen, a
brother of Governor Owen, under whose management the
road was constructed and operated for four years.

382

RAILROAD BEGINNINGS

Van Buren elected

In the presidential election the opposition to Jackson
was not united, the Whigs not being yet thoroughly or¬
ganized. Clay seeing he stood no chance of an election
would not be a candidate. General Harrison received the
chief Whig support, but Webster was voted for as well
as White. In North Carolina the Democrats put every
should^* to the wheel. Even Macon, who had sought re¬
tirement, allowed his name to head the electoral ticket. His
influence was still great. He and the other Van Buren
electors were chosen. But it was his last, expiring effort
for his party. Seven months after his attendance on the
electoral college, June 29, 1837, he passed away, sincerely
lamented by the people of the State. Van Buren carried
15 states, with 170 electoral votes; Harrison 7 states with
73 electoral votes; White, Georgia and Tennessee; Massa¬
chusetts voted for Webster. Later, when the South Caro¬
lina Legislature met, Calhoun gave that State to his friend
Mangum.

1836

Journals,
40, 294

Strange

Senator

The Assembly

In the Legislature the parties were about evenly divided.
When it met, Hugh Waddell of Orange was chosen Speaker
of the Senate over Moseley, the former Democratic Speaker,
by two votes, there being one member absent and one va¬
cancy. In the House, William H. Haywood, brother-in-law
of Dudley, was successful over William A. Graham by
seven votes, there being seven seats vacant.

Mangum now considered that he had lost in his contest at
the polls. He realized that the Assembly was adverse to his
position and he tendered his resignation. On December 3,
the election of his successor came on, the nominees being
Robert Strange and Thomas Settle. In the Senate the vote
was Strange 24, Settle 25, in the House, Strange 61, Settle
58. On joint ballot, with one absent from each House,
the Democrats had a majority of two votes. Three weeks
later an election came off for the full term and Strange was
chosen, receiving seven majority in the House. Robert

NEW CONDITIONS

383

Strange was a native of Virginia, who had early in life
come to this State, and was associated with the most ac¬
complished of our public men. Of Judge Strange, it has
been said : “As a writer, his style is highly imaginative ;
his taste, chastened by an intimate acquaintance with the
most approved authors in every age, is classic and beautiful.
His eulogy upon Judge Gaston cannot but affect the heart,
improve the feelings and delight the mind of all who may
have the pleasure of reading it.” He once ventured into
the realm of fiction and wrote a novel. As a jurist, he ranked
among the most eminent men in the State. At that session
to fill vacancies on the Superior Court bench, Judges Nash,
Pearson, Bailey and Toomer were elected. After ten years,
Judge Nash had returned to the bench and Richmond Pear¬
son now began his judicial career, both being destined to win
high honor and to wear the robes of the Chief Justice.
Owen Holmes of Wilmington was likewise elected a judge,
but on notification he declined.

The new conditions

The western members and those who had favored the
change in the Constitution were now in high elation. The
past was behind them, the future offered hope and the rain¬
bow of promise was in the heavens. And coincident was
the fortuitous distribution of the surplus revenue. Not
only was the power to proceed in their hands but the in¬
strumentality was provided. The line between old things
and new things was sharply drawn, and the Governor
elected by the people was a progressive.

Governor Spaight, accepting his defeat with equanimity,
opened his message with a reference to the unexampled
prosperity of the country and to the termination of the dis¬
turbing questions that “have made us a divided people.”
He hoped that “all differences, antipathies and dislikes, if
not hatreds, arising from the agitation would now termi¬
nate although we could not expect ‘that hatred or dislike
could immediately be succeeded by love and affection.’ ”

He mentioned the act of Congress requiring the public
funds to be deposited with the states, saying: “The faith

Wheeler,

130

Judicial

changes

384

RAILROAD BEGINNINGS

House

Journal,

1836

of the State is pledged for its return. ... If you re¬
ceive it, it should be so invested as to be returned on de¬
mand.” He submitted communications from Maine, Massa¬
chusetts, Connecticut, New York and Ohio and six other
states on the subject of “Incendiary publications, abolition
and slavery.”

Now the prospects of having a fund that might be in¬
vested in improvements and in the advancement of educa¬
tion awoke the liveliest interest. A select committee of
five from each house was provided for. Mr. Jordan on
December 3 reported a bill from the committee for acepting
the deposit which was unanimously passed. Another was
passed to make stock in incorporated companies personal
property ; for stock in railroad companies had been consid¬
ered as savoring of the realty.

The Senate having concurred in accepting the offered
deposit, a committee of one from each congressional dis¬
trict on the part of each house was raised to recommend
the disposition of it. This important committee consisted
321 of Senators Polk, Hawkins, Morehead, Kelly, Davidson,
Hussey, Spruill, Skinner, Whitaker, Rhinehardt, Carson
and J. W. Bryan. The House branch was Raynes, Moore,
Smallwood, Hooker, Sloan, Fisher, Blount D. Jordan, Gra¬
ham, Lee, Cansler, Patton and Courts.

The new fund

William A. Graham for the committee made the report
that the State debt of $400,000 be purchased ; that the bank
stock and $187,800 of cash to be invested in bank stock, all
amounting to $1,000,000 shall belong to the Literary Fund;
that $200,000 be expended in draining the swamp lands ; that
the State should subscribe for two-fifths of the capital
stock of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad and of the
Fayetteville and Western Railroad; that the profits should
go to the public schools.

An amendment was proposed to subscribe $200,000 to the
Raleigh and Gaston Railroad but was voted down 27 to 66,
and an amendment prepared to subscribe to the Central
Railroad was at first likewise voted down, but when the

VAVIE COUNTY ESTABLISHED

3§S

committee prepared a bill to give effect to the resolution,
they included among the railroad beneficiaries the Central
road, and in a motion to strike that out, the vote was 19
to 74. The bill passed 61 to 42 nays.

In the Senate, Mr. Reid moved to amend the bill by sub-
scribing two-fifths of the stock of the Milton and Salisbury
Railroad, but this failed by 6 to 33. Mr. Morehead, evi¬
dently much dissatisfied, then moved to strike out the Wil¬
mington and Weldon Railroad, the vote being 11 to 28.
Failing in that, he moved to postpone the bill indefinitely,
but he again lost the vote by 13 to 26. On the final passage,
the vote was 26 to 13, Morehead and a dozen others oppos¬
ing it.

Eventually the “surplus revenue”

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